In this world, there are such things as inevitabilities, wherein The Universe aligns itself in such a way that there can only be one outcome. Regardless of circumstances, regardless of what might be otherwise wished…regardless of all that, there are some things that were simply meant to happen.
Which is to say this: no version of reality exists where I wasn’t gonna watch a movie called Discopath…
The highest comment an egomaniac such as myself can give to a film like Discopath is that it is the Platonic ideal of the sort of movie I would have wanted to make in high school. It’s a one-joke premise movie, yes, but the premise is irresistible. It takes itself seriously (but not too) and doesn’t waste any time getting to the fun.
I deeply enjoyed it.
There’s another advantage to movies like Discopath, which is that it’s very easy to explain. Allow me to posit a scenario, in the form of fake conversation:
ME: I just watched a movie called Discopath.
FRIEND: Huh. What’s it about?
ME: A guy that kills people whenever he hears disco music.
FRIEND: That sounds awesome!
Alternately, he might respond:
FRIEND: That sounds stupid.
At which point that person and I would no longer be friends, because who needs that sort of killjoy in your life?
The film begins with a desperate man in a leisure suit running towards the camera in slow motion, while in the background, a disco-fied version of ‘Flight Of The Bumblebee’ blares. The opening credits unfold over a Disco Ball that slowly drips blood.
If you’re not in the tank for this one by that point, you might as well stop reading now, because you and I just see the world differently…
From the jump, I was impressed with how much this movie had the courage of its convictions. The go-to instinct for a movie like this is to mock its basic idea, to show that everyone involved knows how stupid an idea it is. Because at some point we as a society decided it was more important to be cool than to make the best version of something. Hence you get Transformers movies where premise-deflating jokes are made at the expense of the giant space robots that have landed in small town America, and a Lone Ranger movie that seems to be actively embarrassed about its main character.
On the other hand, when you have smart creators behind the scenes, you get The Lego Movie, which takes what on the face of it is a bad or silly or extremely limited idea; and instead of distancing themselves, they jump in head first, playing it for every note its worth. Which is exactly what happens here.
(And yes, I’m comparing a movie about a disco-fueled psycho killer to The Lego Movie. Mainly because I think it’ll make for a weird as shit Google Alert…)
At any rate, after an extended prologue in late 70s New York City (replete with period-accurate Twin Towers in establishing shots), the action moves to early 80s Montreal (which, having no knowledge of such things, I assume is equally period-accurate) because as it turns out, this is actually a French-Canadian production. The switch from stilted dialogue in English to more naturalistic reading English subtitles is a little jarring, but probably better for those viewers who might have less appreciation for the Canadians’ goofily over-the-top attempts at New York accents than me.
(Also, I’m not sure if the fact that disco is still a big thing in 1980s Montreal is some sort of self-satire about their overall lack of “with it”-ness, but I rather like to think so.)
To say more would almost be besides the point; there isn’t much more. There are some murders, there are some investigating detectives, and two girls kiss. There’s a certain slapdash nature to the film which lends it an unpredictability. No one is a ‘Type,’ and you can’t quite be sure who’s going to go next, which adds to the fun. I can say to a certainty that I never would have expected KISS’s ‘I Was Made For Loving You’ to play such a prominent role in the exciting conclusion.
(By the way, the music in this movie is pretty much excellent, as long as you’re into Giorgio Moroder. And again, if you’re not, I have to question why you’ve read this far.)
Everybody is having fun here, from our psychotic hero Duane Lewis (played to handsome banality-of-evil perfection by Jeremie Earp-Lavergne) to the secretly freaky Francine (Sandrine Bisson) and the bemused and pervy Father Antoine (Pierre Lenoir) to (especially) the cops, played by Ivan Freud and Christian Paul (as the New York detectives) and Inspector Sirios (Francois Aubin).
Again, at first, when everyone has to speak English, it’s a little off, somehow. Things become much better when everyone gets to speak in their native tongue. But even in those early scenes, it’s hard not to smile at the enthusiasm of it all. Despite its presumably decent budget (KISS songs and CGI recreations of the New York skyline don’t come cheap), there’s a handmade, “let’s put on a show!” quality to the movie that is infectious in its charms.
So even though the set dressing, the cars, and the costumes are all thrift store accurate (though I could have used some wood paneling; I fucking love wood paneling on cars), nobody’s going to mistake this for an actual throwback. For starters, that eye for detail didn’t extend to the hair, most of which is way too contemporary; and second, the movie looks too good. Clearly, writer director Renaud Gauthier studied the works of classical period Dario Argento, and does a decent job of imitation (there is an extended descent into the basement of a Catholic School that reminded me of Argento at his best, with a giggle-inducing punchline to boot). But the subject matter is way more Andy Milligan, so there’s a slight disconnect there.
Having seen an Andy Milligan film, I conclude that this is a stupid thing to complain about…
Lastly, the best thing about Discopath is that at less than 80 minutes, it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. And in its spirit, neither will I.
It’s always nice when you can bring attention to a movie that might otherwise go unseen, and it’s even better when that movie knows exactly what it’s trying to do, and it delivers on its promises.
(Although it probably should have had a bit more gratuitous nudity, because that’s simply how these things are done.)
Discopath: An enormously fun old school splatter flick that doesn’t take itself too seriously. And that’s the way (uh huh, uh huh) I like it.*
*Memo To Publicity Team: If you’re going to quote this review, please only use the first part. Otherwise, I might have to kill myself out of shame.
Discopath is available on iTunes.
