Well, imagine my surprise upon seeing Bent: Volume 1 in my latest package from MAP headquarters. After all, I, just like you, had been informed at the end of my previous Bent reviews, 'we were only sent volumes 2 and 3,' so finding volume 1 now proved quite an unexpected twist. I couldn't help but feel that somehow, in some way, the course of my life had been suddenly...and unpredictably...bent.

Anyway, hopefully by now you know the drill: Bent is a 3-volume series of 10 short films by independent writer-director Jason Santo, all of which are strung together by the idea that the course of one's life can be suddenly and drastically altered (well, supposedly... some of the shorts don't really seem to live up to this idea). As on the previous discs, the three tales are strung together by more narration from Bridget Coulter, who sounds like she's just downed a bottle of Valium. My past reviews (Vol 2 here and Vol 3 here) comment (at great length) about this listless narration, so I won't bother you by repeating myself, aside from a brief admonition to just stick with the films themselves if you're going to watch; their subject matter is generally interesting on its own, meaning they really don't need to be justified by being crammed into a larger context.

The trio of films starts off with the experimental silent short 'Marisa,' in which a girl, after sleeping with her boyfriend, is crushed when she then finds herself abandoned by him. Next comes 'Haunted,' in which a group of criminals, assigned to kill the boyfriend of a rich man's cheating girlfriend (and tie her up and wait around with her, apparently), finds itself facing a diabolical spectral presence in the abandoned building in which it has chosen to perform its task. Things then wrap up with 'His Life,' which tells the story of a man who pays a final visit to his hometown because of premonitions he's had of his impending death.

As with volume 2, the shorts on Bent: Volume 1 are all rather mixed bags. For no-budget SOV productions, of course, they show spectacular promise, but again they still smack of 'early work': there's nothing here with the visceral impact of some of the selections on volume 3, only pieces that tantalizingly hint at greater things to come.

'Marisa,' for example, while well-shot and edited, is a little overwrought and laden with a stifling amount of pathos. 'His Life,' by contrast, is surprisingly lacking in melodrama, avoiding the usual hoary, tear-jerking clichés inherent in the 'man who knows he will die' pseudo-genre; however, it actually ends up being too devoid of emotion. I never really felt as much for the main character as I was supposed to, and the short's ending, while creative, is surprisingly simplistic, delivering a moral that's hinted at in the protagonist's opening voice-over narration. This fact leads us to wonder how much the character has learned from his whole experience and whether, rather than actually being educated, he's simply been prodded into doing the 'right thing.' It's needless to say that this weak ending hurts the film, though I suppose all of this wouldn't be that bad if the film were quicker. However, at 37 minutes it's too long: the film contains too many shots of our hero wandering the streets for interest to be effectively sustained, and some portions suffer from editing that could have used major tightening (for instance, a character will deliver his line and there will be a half-second's pause before we cut to the next character and his line).

'Haunted' is definitely the piece that's most tragic in its faults. Its opening docu-snuff murder of the cheating girlfriend's lover sets a particularly grim mood for the proceedings, and the short is enhanced by some pretty good acting (particularly by Gene Dante, whose powerhouse performance in volume 3's 'Here Comes Your Man' helped make that film an experience worth remembering. The warehouse in which 'Haunted' takes place is equally affecting: it's dank, dark, creepy, and most definitely a good location for a 'scary movie.' Sadly, what could have been a really fantastic horror piece is simply turned into an opportunity for 'Boo!' - style shocks, for instead of evoking actual dread via mood and pacing, Santo simply opts for an (over) abundance of loud and sudden jumps in volume in between quiet patches of dialogue. Using this low-talking to force the audience into turning up its speakers, only to then jar it with sudden loud bangs and screams, is a rather cheap trick in my opinion, and I found myself wishing that the film had taken a higher road in trying to scare its audience. (If I were looking to simply be jolted by loud screeches I'd go out and rent Event Horizon.)

Still, even if it is a flawed package overall, I can at least say that Bent: Volume 1 is still miles above most of its SOV brethren, and it's clear from his films that, while Jason Santo may not always succeed completely with his productions, he is trying every damn time, which, these days, is something commendable. It's clear from the work on Bent that the man has talent. With any luck he'll one day get a few bucks and really be able to put together something special, and then we'll all be able to look back at Bent and see how it foretells greatness.

Providing this needed initial exposure for Santo are the fine folks at Tempe Video, who, from what I've seen, have been doing a good job of getting these movies 'out there.' In addition to what seems to be a great distribution deal (I can report that I've seen two copies of the three-volume set at my local Tower Records), they have also put together a nice package that presents all of these films in a fine light.

To begin with, video and audio are both as good as can be expected. The picture on all of the films is clear and free from anything but a few minor and very rare technical defects, and the audio is similarly good, considering the source material.

As for extras, we receive promos for all of the shorts as well as the Bent series itself and, for each short, an approximately 15-minute featurette that details the film's creation, combining unused and behind the scenes footage with Santo interviews. The shorts do occasionally become a little self-important, but overall they're entertaining enough - particularly if you're interested in no-budget film production - and they prove a good addition to this package.

While it's clear from these shorts that Jason Santo is a talented filmmaker, Bent: Volume 1 is, in the end, sadly not quite good enough for me to fully recommend. If you're feeling experimental or are really into micro-budget cinema, it can't hurt to give this disc a try, of course; however, for the typical viewer, Bent: Volume 1 is just a little short of making the grade.

Editor's Note - The Bent Trilogy is available from Tempe Home Video as a DVD 3-pack.