directed by: Scott Philip Goergens
Albert Fish was one of the sickest, most depraved humans ever to live. He was known as the Werewolf of Wysteria. He was also known as a serial killer, child rapist, and cannibal. He was also also known as the guy who was discovered to have shoved 29 needles into his taint and lost them up there. I’ll give you a second to breathe through that information…
Thankfully this movie isn’t about Albert Fish because that man was an irredeemable ghoul. 29 NEEDLES does concern itself, however, with one man’s deeply depraved demons and, to a lesser extent, his taint.
The late Brooke Berry stars as the disturbed Francis Bacon. He has become notorious around town, with a reputation of being kind of “a sick fuck”. One day, a man named Hans approaches him at a bar and tells him about a very exclusive place that’s not exactly legal, where he can live out all of his twisted fantasies, and so begins Francis’ journey into quelling his demons…or is he merely satisfying them?
Throughout the course of 29 NEEDLES, you the viewer will see things you cannot unsee. Some things you may find disturbing. Other things you may find exciting. One thing is for sure, this slice of extreme cinema is not for the faint of heart. I spoke with director Scott Goergens, who insisted on this review being as spoiler-free as possible, to preserve all of the shock for the viewing experience. I can respect that. But I will provide some information to prepare you mentally for the type of experience this film is, because it’s quite a unique experience.
Much like my browsing history, 29 NEEDLES frequently features unsimulated sexual acts. The acts depicted in the movie aren’t always of a vanilla variety, either. Francis Bacon does not concern himself with vanilla flavors, because vanilla won’t satisfy the beast within him. Additionally, there are many things I won’t look at the same way ever again. Human fingers, for instance. I tell you this only as a disclaimer. Extract from that what you will.
So, how is it? The word singular comes to mind. While 29 NEEDLES definitely wears its inspirations on its sleeve, I’ve never seen anything executed in quite this way. There are scenes between the shock that are slow, and contemplative, and usually consist of watching Francis work through things in his mind. They are done through static camera angles, and long takes that don’t cut away. We aren’t really given the option to look away, which very well may be the point. The film also bears some marks of taking a long time to complete as well as being on budget constraints, but that’s forgivable when the sheer amount of fucked-up art on display is considered.
Unearthed Films is welcoming 29 NEEDLES to their Too Extreme for Mainstream line so all of you psychosexual body horror fans should keep your eyes peeled and your wallets open in anticipation of adding this unique viewing experience to your personal library.
Yours,
Elliot
Spook du jour 