Horror movies about rock bands are a time-honored tradition. From Green Room to Studio 666 and Lords of Chaos, it’s a way to add a specific type of spice. Director Don Capria, in his debut film, pulls from real-life experience to make Director’s Cut. A fun, breezy debut, it exists at a bloody intersection between horror, metal, and humor.
It’s no surprise that Capria’s debut follows this subject matter. The director spent time in hardcore punk bands through high school and later founded 1:10 Artist Management, a management company for hardcore punk and hip-hop artists. After getting into directing music videos for his groups, the director began dabbling in television and shorts. His debut feature allows him to apply knowledge and experience that is pinpoint specific to him. Those experiences, and how clearly he loves those memories, inform quite of bit of Director’s Cut.
Mixing your classic “cabin in the woods” movie with 00s-esque torture porn, Capria takes his young band to an abandoned mansion to shoot their first video. Lead-singer Jay (Tyler Ivey) has kept the band writing new music with no shows for over a year. The rest of the band (Greg Poppa, Brandy Ochoa, and Louis Rocky Bacigalupo) are beginning to get frustrated. Jay’s place/their practice space has been served an eviction notice, they can’t afford to go professionally record any of their new tracks, and they’ve got leads on good venues to play shows. Jay, dealing with a tragic loss that has damaged the whole band, decides to go all-in on shooting a music video for promotion. They can’t afford anyone, but a private message on Instagram from someone calling themselves “Mister Director” (Louis Lombardi) has offered to do it for free because he likes their sound. So…they head to the woods with their equipment to shoot the video. From here the blood begins to fly and things get messy as the band is picked off one-by-one.
There’s a strange comfort in movies that feel inevitable. Capria opens his film with the headliner that the band disappeared in the woods, a “whatever happened to them” article that highlights the last photo taken of the group. It’s a good group, too. There’s more character here than what we usually get with tighter debuts. The chemistry between them is hit or miss in places but for the most part the interconnected drama does feel like a band. Romances have come and gone, substance abuse makes for odd dynamics, and the actors are playing with all of this under Capria’s guidance. These dynamics often happen in small groups that spend a ton of time together. Knowing that we’re headed towards death relieves any tension of looking at our final girl or boy, at who might survive, and allows viewers to just kick back and enjoy the drama and brutality.
And whoo, does that brutality come through! The makeup department gets to have a great time covering the actors in gore. Everything from burn marks to bludgeonings and piercings go on full display and they look amazing. The set, created by Mister Director for the band to their chagrin, is an S&M playground ripe for kinky and ridiculous kills that are as much fun for the audience as they are the torturer. Horror is often special for newer directors, who get to show off what they can do visually, and Capria just absolutely goes for it.
Dirty, deranged, and pretty damn funny thanks to Lombardi’s performance, Director’s Cut is a promising debut that’s as endearing as it is bloody.
Director’s Cut debuts exclusively in theatres on October 31st.
WRITE DRUNK; EDIT DRUNK 