I wasn't quite sure what to think of the little black VHS box that I pulled out of Mr. Raffel's latest parcel to wend its way to my doorstep. The only labeling on the tape I'd received stated that what I would be viewing was something called 'Dead Body Man.' This title, coupled with the gore and chainsaw-wielding maniac on the cover, made me wonder if I hadn't received some sort of strange snuff superhero film. What I got did live up to those expectations of strangeness; however, it was also a surprisingly professional production.

Dead Body Man concerns Willie (Eddie Benevich), a serial killer whose murders are commanded from his closet by the voice of God (director Ryan Cavaline, sounding like he's channeling Audrey II from The Little Shop of Horrors), which tells him to murder sinners and then sell their carrion to help produce vittles for the destitute. We are introduced to Willie's methods via a fairly disturbing pre-credits sequence in which he lures a hooker to his house by pretending to be mentally handicapped (this sounds really offensive, I'm sure, but trust me, it's amazingly well-done). Wanting to end his madness, Willie decides to take a first step toward redemption by attending a 'Serial Killers Anonymous' meeting.

Sadly, Willie finds the meeting little help and once again embraces his murderous tendencies. After killing a girl lost on her way to Elm Street (which, combined with Willie's red and green sweater, provide two Kreuger references) and an unwary pizza boy, Willie once again decides to seek the rehab group's help. Willie is tired of God's endless harassment, which, in addition to coming from his closet, has now started manifesting itself in other instances as well, speaking to him from a pizza box and even through an actress in a porno movie he is watching.

At this point things become very schizophrenic, contrasting sharply with the first half of the movie, in which Willie either sits around, walks around, or kills people. Plot lines suddenly begin appearing fast and furious, with Willie getting a job, hunting a rival serial killer, experiencing visions that seem to relate to his childhood, and fighting off a mutant brother who grows from his side. After much bloodshed, Willie finally frees himself from his dementia and gains the normal existence he has been missing for so long.

If all of this sounds a little uneven and disjointed, that's because it is. Dead Body Man is not exactly a perfect example of the compelling narrative. As said before, events tend to get a little repetitious during the first half: Willie hacks someone to bits while dancing around and ranting, Willie watches some porn until it starts telling him to kill someone else, Willie goes to a 'Serial Killers Anonymous' meeting where everyone yells at each other, Willie hacks someone to bits while... Suddenly, however, the second half of the movie explodes onto the screen, with its myriad nonsensical plot twists and story developments.

Despite the less than compelling narrative (at least in the beginning), there is a fair amount of good to be found in DBM. Originality, even if repetitive, definitely abounds, and I have to say, despite the meandering narrative, I was never compelled to run from the TV set or shut off the tape. If nothing else, DBM does serve its purpose as entertainment; it kept my attention. This was probably due to the fairly professional production. While some SOV films, with their endless, flat one-takes, can be an absolute chore to sit through, DBM showcased good composition and, for the most part, good editing. Professionalism is an enormous asset for an SOV production, and DBM has this going for it, if nothing else. Professionalism turns things like a suicide hotline 'office' that is composed of a table in a corner with a sheet of paper reading 'suicide hotline' on it from annoying to amusing. Along these lines, DBM's comedic elements definitely serve to make the movie a better watch as well. Since most everything is played tongue-in-cheek, things like the aforementioned 'office' and some of the tacky special effects are much easier to let slide. While Dead Body Man may not be anywhere near great cinema, it's still a cute little time-waster, if you're willing to feel as playful as it asks of its viewer.

Still, however, DBM does have its problems as well. As said, the special effects are generally rather unimpressive. Gore tends to consist of blood and meat being flung from off camera (usually from the wrong direction) at Willie as he stabs off-screen. Similarly, Benevich's portrayal of Willie, which is fairly well done, can, on occasion, go a little over the top and become grating. Like some sort of SOV Matthew Lillard, Benevich is obviously a gifted comic actor, but occasionally he is in need of restraint. Some lines and ideas are definitely milked way beyond any sensible limit, such as mentions of meat (e.g. 'Iâm gonna bring you some meat, ok? Good meat. Not bad meat. Good meat. So Iâm bringing you meat. Ok? I'll bring you some meat? All right, I'm bringing you meat...') and references to chicken-fucking, which get terribly stale after the first or second mention. At 100 minutes, DBM is also a little long; much of what has been mentioned above could probably be cut at no loss to the movie and a definite gain in pacing. Much of the first half could be made more concise, and, at 80 minutes, DBM could probably be a really fun little time-waster.

While still a little rough around the edges, Dead Body Man proves, in the end, to be an affable little time-waster. While it could have used some trimming as well as an auditory polish (I've forgotten to mention some scenes where sound is poor enough for dialogue to be rendered next to inaudible), Dead Body Man is livened up by some creative storytelling, a generally talented performance by Eddie Benevich, and a really neat little opening scene. If you're looking for an evening's worth of low, low budget horror entertainment, Dead Body Man may fit your bill. You could do better, but you could definitely do much worse, too.

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