SPECIAL EFFECTS (1984)

3 stars.

Radiance/Transmission. Blu Ray. 23rd March

Keefe (Brad Rijn) comes to the big city to try and find his wife Mary Jean (Zoë Lund). This is presumably a stage name as she is also called Andrea Wilcox – but this is never explained as far as I can tell. He wants her to come home to Oklahoma for him and their young son. So he is not best parts pleased when he finds her at a nudie photoshoot for a bunch of pervs, in a set of the White House Oval Office no less. Back at his hotel room, she manages to escape from his clutches and drives off — an aspiring actress with ambitions of being a star, she ends up at the bizarrely decorated flat of controversial director Christopher Neville (Eric Bogosian), who had recently made a hugely unsuccessful movie that cost a lot of money. When she refuses to carry on their lovemaking, when she hears the camera whirring that the sleaze ball has setup to

film them, he strangles her to death and dumps her naked body in the car. The killing is captured on camera but you can’t see him in the shot.

The police suspect the husband but he gives them the slip and heads to Neville’s place – only to be arrested outside. The director sees this happening and films it. He then puts up the bail for Keefe and brings in a top lawyer. In a bizarre attempt to use the incriminating footage and frame the husband he tells her wants to tell Andrea’s story – how she came to the city and got eaten up by it. If that weren’t odd enough he wants Keefe to star in it as himself and the slimeball of a director searches out an actress, Elaine Bernstein – who looks exactly like Mary Jean and is also played by Lund. Part of his plan also includes employing the lead detective on the case as a technical advisor – as this will also show how the husband was responsible. All seems perfectly rational…

Writer/Director Larry Cohen always makes interesting movies – with productions like IT’S ALIVE (1974), Q; THE WINGED SERPENT (1982) and MANIAC COP (1988). Unfortunately SPECIAL EFFECTS is one of his lesser outings – coming over as a sub DePalma thriller. It isn’t helped by the relentless music score by Michael Minard which is slathered over proceedings. The acting is hit and miss — Bogosian is fine as the sordid helmer whereas Rijn is amateurish. Lund is somewhere in between. Lund, born Zoe Tamerlis was probably best known for her lead role in Abel Ferrara’s 1981 outing MS. 45. Her life was cut short from drug related heart failure at just 37.

Steve Kirkham

EXTRAS

New audio commentary with director of King Cohen, Steve Mitchell

Archival director’s commentary with Larry Cohen, moderated by Steve Mitchell

Interviews with star Eric Bogosian; with Larry Cohen; interview with critic Christina Newland on Zoë Tamerlis Lund

Plus O-card featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Eric Adrian Lee; Limited edition booklet featuring new writing from Juan Barquin.