Douglas Buck Movies
A decade after the sheriff of Dead River, Maine killed a murderous clan of cannibalistic savages, the nightmare returns to the sleepy small town in this brutal screen adaptation of Jack Ketchum's terrifying novel (originally penned as a follow-up to his 1980 fiction debut Off-Season). Ketchum adapts his novel for the screen in a film directed by Andrew Van Den Houten (who previously produced the feature adaptation of Ketchum's The Girl Next Door). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Family Portraits: A Trilogy of America director Douglas Buck follows that gruesome collection of three short films with this feature-length reimaging of cinema auteur Brian De Palma's 1973 horror film concerning a pair of mysterious siblings and the curious reporter who stumbles upon their deadly secret. Grace (Chloë Sevigny) is an ambitious young journalist conducting an investigation of a controversial psychiatrist (Stephen Rea) who is currently maintaining a questionable relationship with disturbed patient Angelique (Lou Doillon). As the investigation continues, Grace soon stumbles into an ongoing conspiracy populated by human experimentation, strange deaths, and a controversial operation. As the probing reporter delves ever deeper into the profoundly unsettling details and witnesses a brutal murder thanks to the unintended assistance of Angelique's latest love interest, Dr. Dylan Wallace, her fragile mental state is quickly shattered by the spiraling violence and unspeakable revelations to which she is now inextricably bound. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lou Doillon, Stephen Rea, (more)
- 2004
Independent filmmaker Douglas Buck wrote and directed this anthology of three short subjects, each of which takes an unflinching look at disturbing secrets lurking beneath the surfaces of several "ordinary" families. In Cutting Moments, a housewife (Nicca Ray) who has come to the end of her rope as she tries to reach out to her emotionally vacant husband (Gary Betsworth) reacts with a shocking act of self-inflicted violence, which soon spirals out of control. In Home, Betsworth stars as an emotionally abusive husband and father (himself the victim of a vindictive and unfeeling parent) whose random and persistent cruelty finally manifests itself in a shocking act of revenge when his wife (Christine Caleo) and daughter (Jayne Deely) take a stand and refuse to obey his commands. And Prologue concerns Billie Anders (Sally Conway), a 17-year-old girl who returns home after a year in a rehabilitation facility following an incident which cost her both hands and put her in a wheelchair. As Billie deals with the many ways in which her friends, her family, and her hometown have changed, she decides to confront the man whose actions caused her pain. The three films featured in Family Portraits were created over a span of seven years and were screened individually at a number of film festivals before being compiled for feature release both theatrically and on video. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Troma Team Pictures, the company that brought you such classics as The Toxic Avenger, When Nature Calls and Class Of Nuke 'Em High, takes a look inside the making of a "typical" Troma release with Terror Firmer, directed and co-written by Troma co-founder Lloyd Kaufman, who also appears as the director of the film-within-the film. Here, Kaufman (whose character is blind, which would explain a lot about Troma's product) and his crew are making a willfully sleazy horror flick, complete with monsters, gore, gratuitous nudity and loud rock 'n' roll, when a serial killer appears who doesn't happen to be in the script. Terror Firmer is based in part on Kaufman's 1998 book about his career with Troma, All I Need To Know About Filmmaking I Learned From The Toxic Avenger, and includes a plug for the upcoming Jane Austen's Schlock and Schlockability (possibly a follow-up to 1996's Shakespeare variant Tromeo and Juliet). ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Will Keenan, Alyce LaTourelle, (more)
