SLASHERS

"$la$her$" is the most successful television program in Japan: six contestants will be catapulted into a television studio where three dangerous serial killers roam; the contestants, if they manage to survive, will receive a substantial sum of money equivalent to five million dollars. The program, which until that moment had been only a Japanese exclusive, is preparing to face a special episode with stars and stripes where the contestants will be exclusively American. The game begins... may the best win! After watching this film, one wonders what goes through the minds of Italian distributors and what their criteria are for selecting films to distribute and those to neglect. Indeed, we can notice that, especially regarding the home video market, many Italian distributors engage in the distribution of abominable and bewildering films at the limits of watchability, only to leave in the shadows compelling, well-made films that are undoubtedly deserving. "$la$her$" is a bizarre Canadian horror film made in 2001 and, unfortunately, is part of those titles that still have not found a distribution in our country. The film in question offers interesting points right from the start; indeed, the basic plot is undoubtedly interesting, especially in the current television situation where reality shows are the order of the day. A similar story had already been treated and developed years earlier, in 1987, by the film "The Running Man" starring our favorite Terminator, Arnold Schwarzenegger; but while there the main focus was primarily on the action component, in "$la$her$" all the attention of the viewer will be on the brutal massacres and hence on the horror component. In addition to a fascinating story, the narrative construction of the plot is undoubtedly remarkable, presenting itself as if the viewer were watching the episode of the show: here the film begins with the show's theme, proceeds with the presentation of the contestants and the unfolding of the facts (always seen from the contestants' point of view) up to the awarding of the winner. Effective is also the direction, entrusted to a little-known Maurice Deveraux (who, in addition to directing the film, writes and produces it) who clearly demonstrates himself to be a fan of horror (a room in the studio is adorned with various statues depicting all the most famous monsters: from the classics, Dracula and Frankenstein, to contemporary icons Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees) and who makes simplicity his strong point because he tends to approach, as much as possible, the televisual style of a live broadcast (the shots appear as realistic as possible thanks to the few camera cuts); good also the performance of the actors who all, or almost, are perfectly immersed in their role. It is due to mention also the fascinating look and portrayal of the three crazy psychopaths: we have Chainsaw Charlie, a killer dressed as a lumberjack who wields a large and roaring chainsaw; the Preacher (perhaps the most fascinating of the three), an unsettling guy in elegant attire armed with sharp knives and then there is the Doctor, the craziest and cruelest of the group, armed with a disproportionately sized shears. The three will give life to a spectacular high-potential splatter show that indeed becomes the strong point of the film. Many are the extreme sequences in which splatter can happily flourish: here we have heads cut off live, bodies torn apart with the chainsaw, disembowelments, severed limbs and so on... in short, everything needed to make a splatter movie lover happy. In conclusion, this "$la$her$" is a bizarre, original, funny, and bloody film but that does not see its sole purpose in staging violent and fun sequences (for us lovers of the genre) but that can be read both as a social critique in which the individual, increasingly greedy for money and fame, would do anything to conquer the screen (here he is even willing to kill), and as a critique of the world of television, particularly the increasingly prolific world of reality shows, where, in order to get ratings, the most absurd themes are proposed. A film, therefore, intelligent but also entertaining that would have undoubtedly deserved an appearance even in our country, we will continue to live in hope by advancing the idea that one day, at least for the home video market, "$la$her$" will manage to arrive also with us. It would deserve half a vote more.