3 out of 5

Directed by: Phillip Cook

Maybe you’ve been really, really driven to pursue something in your life – something without any direct, tangible benefit beyond the satisfaction of finishing it. Have you pursued that something to its end? What if it cost a significant amount of money, and time? What if you couldn’t accomplish it just by yourself, but needed to convince others to join you in this possibly boonless venture?

Wipe whatever vainglorious thing you done did from your mind: you will never be Phillip Cook, or of the hardy stock that produces such people who desire to make a movie about aliens in purgatory trying to break free and take over the planet, then proceeding to do so without any budget whatsover. Need a set?Build it. Need an editor, or producer? Nah – you’re doing that all yourself. Need a score? Well, no one’s credited, but we got a funky, ethereal beat carrying us along – library music? Self-composed? You got it done, either way. Well, geez, what about that whole aliens and purgatory plot – sounds like some pretty expensive special effects. And I imagine quite a few extras. Probably true for both – but thankfully, late 90s computer graphics are here to cover anything we can’t shoot practically, or make with burlap sacks and garbage bags!

I realize I’ve likely painted a picture of a bad movie, and the initial pitch, to me, of Cook’s film was to relate it to Neil Breen, another movie all-in-one maestro who does reply positively to the questions I started with, several times over, and who does make very, very bad films. But while Breen’s gung-ho attitude also encompasses some mightily delusional self-aggrandizing, Despiser… is actually a competent movie. And – hear me out – has the bones of a better movie, with a bit more time, money, and nuance. And self-aggrandizement isn’t on the agenda; rather, Cook wanted to make this flick without the funds, then figured out the most effective way to get that done with the tools at hand. So, yeah, it’s shot on backyard sets with CG car chases (with Playstation graphics), and the plot kind of thinly moves through its “purgatory” narrative, but by the same token, lead Mark Redfield and a game supporting cast put in performances that are at least on par with any given B-movie, the framing and editing is mindful of the film’s cheapy look and essentially works with it, and there’s enough going on in Despiser’s 100ish minute runtime to remind you that there is a story here.

Which is mostly covered by my one-sentence summary, but Cook adds in some fun lore: Gordon’s (Redfield) job and marriage are falling apart, and while wallowing in his dejection, a nigh-car crash swirls him through some dimensional divide to land in “purgatory,” where those who lose hope end up. Teaming up with some other outcasts, Gordon learns, firstly, that “purgatory” is just a name for this interdimensional realm – other cultures have their own names for it, etc. – and that he alone seems to have the ability to port between the “real” world and this alternate one. A power some baddies from that other world, led by The Despiser – a shadowed, many-tentacled creature – desperately want. Or, y’know, they’ll keep working on their plan to gather nukes and blow a hole into the real world.

I dunno, you can’t dig into this too much.

But if you just stand aside and let the movie do its thing, it does it very acceptably, jumping from real world to purgatory, dialogue to frequent bouts of action, at a fair enough clip, and hurtling Gordon and team towards a showdown with – of course – The Despiser.

If you can tolerate some Birdemic-level effects, and appreciate how Cook has done a solid job of finding a consistent style for their application (to keep providing examples, think FMV video games from the 90s / early 00s); if you can accept the kind of flat but I’m trying acting from folks whose credits are mostly just this one film – though check out Redfield, whose credits have continued to stack up! – and if you can let it sink in that one man’s vision helped encourage a small gaggle of enthusiastic folks to get this self-funded project over the finish line… Despiser is a wholly enjoyable viewing. And if you’re already aligned with the cheekier side of film, not needing any of those judges, then you’re already primed to enjoy it.

The DVD version has some fun animated menus, extras and deleted scenes which are a bit dry, but show the fun the crew was having, and a director’s commentary which underlines that further, and helps to confirm that Cook is not a Neil Breen type; it’s a worthwhile listen.

The Bluray version has even more stuff, but someone forgot to tell me that was coming out right after I bought the DVD version.