Michael Elliott
Senior HTF Member
Love Object
:star::star:1/2/:star::star::star::star:
Studio: Lions Gate
Year: 2003
Rated: R
Film Length: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.77:1)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DD 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: Spanish
Retail Price: $19.95
Kenneth (Desmond Harrington) is a loser who has a great job, which takes away from any outside life. Ken spends most of his time at work and when he isn’t there he’s at home sitting in front of the computer only wishing he had someone there with him. One day at work a couple co-workers are joking with him about a picture of a woman who Ken thinks is very pretty. The joke is that the picture is of a fake woman who can be ordered over the internet. The woman is guaranteed to be made of the best plastics out there and feel just like any woman you’d find in a bar.
Ken ends up paying the $10,000 price tag and when Nikki arrives all of his sexual fantasies are brought to life. Things get even better at work because Ken’s able to work even harder knowing that when he gets home sex is just waiting for him. However, Ken starts to have a crush on a new temp at work, Lisa (Melissa Sagemiller). After practicing on Nikki at home Ken finally gets the courage to ask Lisa out but this here doesn’t sit too well with Nikki. Soon Ken is in terror as Nikki starts to come to life and sets out to destroy him.
Love Object sounds incredibly stupid and it is but it manages to rise above most horror films of its type because it doesn’t settle on violence and gore but instead goes for a psychological type of horror film. The movie has a lot more to do with Psycho than Child’s Play and works well by doing this. There isn’t anything here that makes this a good movie or one that you should go out of your way to see but if you’ve got nothing better to watch then you could do a lot worse than this here.
The best thing about the film are the performances, which are shockingly very good for this type of film. Desmond Harrington, while no Anthony Perkins, delivers a very nice performance and manages to hit all the right notes and he has quite a bit to pull off here. He perfectly captures the loneliness of the character and the way he plays the shyness of the role comes off very well. Another strong aspect is when he’s acting along side the dummy girl. When you see someone talking to a rubber doll you’d expect to laugh but the performance by Harrington doesn’t have us laugh but instead we get to know and feel how lonely this guy is. Melissa Sagemiller also does a very nice job as the love object. While she doesn’t have too much to do she is able to bring a sweetness to the role that works well against the depressed Ken. Rip Torn has a small role and brings his usually evil grace to the film. Even Udo Kier is on hand but he’s mostly wasted as a bong-smoking apartment manager.
The screenplay and direction by Robert Parigi are right on the mark making this film even better than it should have been. The direction between Ken and the doll come off remarkably well considering that it’s all played straight and never get so silly to where the viewer couldn’t connect with the character. I rather enjoyed the fact that the director kept this thing very serious throughout and didn’t settle for cheap one-liners in dialogue or overly perverted sex scenes. The biggest flaw with the film comes towards the end when it does become more of a slasher film than a psychological one but other than that it works throughout.
I’m sure ten minutes could have been edited out and some of the scenes edited together a bit better but in the end I was pleased with Love Object. The film certainly has a bit of Vertigo mixed in with Peeping Tom and seems to borrow a bit from a 1996 movie called Kissed but there’s still several original moments here. If you’re looking for a smart horror film that doesn’t settle too much on gore then this should be right up your alley. There’s also some nice comedy bits, which helps clear up some rumors about rubber women.
VIDEO---The movie is shown widescreen (1.77:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 TVs. The picture quality isn’t that hot but since the budget was only $900,000 you really can’t expect too much. This was filmed on 16mm then blown up to 35mm so that will explain some grain that appears throughout the film. The grain is evident throughout but it’s mostly noticeable during scenes where there are bright lights. Whenever there’s a lot of white in the scene then you’ll notice the grain but during the nighttime scenes this really isn’t a problem. Colors are pretty good throughout, although there isn’t too much detail in any of them. There are a few scenes where it appears the colors are completely drained and dull but according to the director in the commentary this is how it’s supposed to look.
AUDIO---The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and a Dolby 2.0 Surround. The 5.1 track is surprisingly very active considering the budget of the film. Dialogue is crystal clear without any problems and remains active throughout, although the range isn’t the greatest. The music score sounds wonderfully well in the Surrounds and helps capture the atmosphere of the film. Surrounds are also perfectly used during various sound effects ranging from stab wounds to typing on keys.
EXTRAS---Up first is an audio commentary with director Robert Parigi, which basically deals with what a director and producer does on a film. Robert is constantly talking and telling stories throughout the track so I’m sure most will find it very entertaining. There’s also talk about alternate scenes and a few different edits that didn’t end up in the final film. He also goes into great detail on how to shoot a film under a million dollars. There’s also a second commentary track with the director who is joined by cast members including Desmond Harrington, Melissa Sagemiller, Brad Henke and Robert Bagnell. This track too is a lot of fun with a lot more detail about the making of the film. The actors have a wonderful time telling stories and talking about the rather strange film. There’s even more talk about scenes that didn’t make it in the movie. Up next are four video interviews all running just under ten minutes each. Up first is an interview with Udo Kier that’s rather fun, although a longer piece would have been nice. Udo talks about how he got involved in the project and tells a funny story of how he actually got hurt on the set. Up next is an interview with the makeup guy Brian Penikas who talks about the creation of the doll. Composer Nicholas Pike has a small piece about his score and what ideas went into making it. Finally we get a short interview with the director but most of his stories here are on the commentary tracks and feature better detail there. Also included is a small photo and poster gallery as well as trailers for Godsend, Open Water and Monster Man. No trailer for this feature is included for some reason.
OVERALL---While it’s nowhere near a masterpiece horror and art fans should certainly check this film out if they get a chance. It got a limited theatrical run without much buzz but hopefully its DVD release will get more word behind it. Lions Gate has given us a very good Special Edition with some nice extras as well as a nice 5.1 mix. The picture quality is on the blah side but this is more than likely due to the fact that this was a 16mm blown up to 35mm.
Release Date: July 13, 2004
:star::star:1/2/:star::star::star::star:
Studio: Lions Gate
Year: 2003
Rated: R
Film Length: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.77:1)
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DD 2.0 Surround
Subtitles: Spanish
Retail Price: $19.95
Kenneth (Desmond Harrington) is a loser who has a great job, which takes away from any outside life. Ken spends most of his time at work and when he isn’t there he’s at home sitting in front of the computer only wishing he had someone there with him. One day at work a couple co-workers are joking with him about a picture of a woman who Ken thinks is very pretty. The joke is that the picture is of a fake woman who can be ordered over the internet. The woman is guaranteed to be made of the best plastics out there and feel just like any woman you’d find in a bar.
Ken ends up paying the $10,000 price tag and when Nikki arrives all of his sexual fantasies are brought to life. Things get even better at work because Ken’s able to work even harder knowing that when he gets home sex is just waiting for him. However, Ken starts to have a crush on a new temp at work, Lisa (Melissa Sagemiller). After practicing on Nikki at home Ken finally gets the courage to ask Lisa out but this here doesn’t sit too well with Nikki. Soon Ken is in terror as Nikki starts to come to life and sets out to destroy him.
Love Object sounds incredibly stupid and it is but it manages to rise above most horror films of its type because it doesn’t settle on violence and gore but instead goes for a psychological type of horror film. The movie has a lot more to do with Psycho than Child’s Play and works well by doing this. There isn’t anything here that makes this a good movie or one that you should go out of your way to see but if you’ve got nothing better to watch then you could do a lot worse than this here.
The best thing about the film are the performances, which are shockingly very good for this type of film. Desmond Harrington, while no Anthony Perkins, delivers a very nice performance and manages to hit all the right notes and he has quite a bit to pull off here. He perfectly captures the loneliness of the character and the way he plays the shyness of the role comes off very well. Another strong aspect is when he’s acting along side the dummy girl. When you see someone talking to a rubber doll you’d expect to laugh but the performance by Harrington doesn’t have us laugh but instead we get to know and feel how lonely this guy is. Melissa Sagemiller also does a very nice job as the love object. While she doesn’t have too much to do she is able to bring a sweetness to the role that works well against the depressed Ken. Rip Torn has a small role and brings his usually evil grace to the film. Even Udo Kier is on hand but he’s mostly wasted as a bong-smoking apartment manager.
The screenplay and direction by Robert Parigi are right on the mark making this film even better than it should have been. The direction between Ken and the doll come off remarkably well considering that it’s all played straight and never get so silly to where the viewer couldn’t connect with the character. I rather enjoyed the fact that the director kept this thing very serious throughout and didn’t settle for cheap one-liners in dialogue or overly perverted sex scenes. The biggest flaw with the film comes towards the end when it does become more of a slasher film than a psychological one but other than that it works throughout.
I’m sure ten minutes could have been edited out and some of the scenes edited together a bit better but in the end I was pleased with Love Object. The film certainly has a bit of Vertigo mixed in with Peeping Tom and seems to borrow a bit from a 1996 movie called Kissed but there’s still several original moments here. If you’re looking for a smart horror film that doesn’t settle too much on gore then this should be right up your alley. There’s also some nice comedy bits, which helps clear up some rumors about rubber women.
VIDEO---The movie is shown widescreen (1.77:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 TVs. The picture quality isn’t that hot but since the budget was only $900,000 you really can’t expect too much. This was filmed on 16mm then blown up to 35mm so that will explain some grain that appears throughout the film. The grain is evident throughout but it’s mostly noticeable during scenes where there are bright lights. Whenever there’s a lot of white in the scene then you’ll notice the grain but during the nighttime scenes this really isn’t a problem. Colors are pretty good throughout, although there isn’t too much detail in any of them. There are a few scenes where it appears the colors are completely drained and dull but according to the director in the commentary this is how it’s supposed to look.
AUDIO---The sound is Dolby Digital 5.1 and a Dolby 2.0 Surround. The 5.1 track is surprisingly very active considering the budget of the film. Dialogue is crystal clear without any problems and remains active throughout, although the range isn’t the greatest. The music score sounds wonderfully well in the Surrounds and helps capture the atmosphere of the film. Surrounds are also perfectly used during various sound effects ranging from stab wounds to typing on keys.
EXTRAS---Up first is an audio commentary with director Robert Parigi, which basically deals with what a director and producer does on a film. Robert is constantly talking and telling stories throughout the track so I’m sure most will find it very entertaining. There’s also talk about alternate scenes and a few different edits that didn’t end up in the final film. He also goes into great detail on how to shoot a film under a million dollars. There’s also a second commentary track with the director who is joined by cast members including Desmond Harrington, Melissa Sagemiller, Brad Henke and Robert Bagnell. This track too is a lot of fun with a lot more detail about the making of the film. The actors have a wonderful time telling stories and talking about the rather strange film. There’s even more talk about scenes that didn’t make it in the movie. Up next are four video interviews all running just under ten minutes each. Up first is an interview with Udo Kier that’s rather fun, although a longer piece would have been nice. Udo talks about how he got involved in the project and tells a funny story of how he actually got hurt on the set. Up next is an interview with the makeup guy Brian Penikas who talks about the creation of the doll. Composer Nicholas Pike has a small piece about his score and what ideas went into making it. Finally we get a short interview with the director but most of his stories here are on the commentary tracks and feature better detail there. Also included is a small photo and poster gallery as well as trailers for Godsend, Open Water and Monster Man. No trailer for this feature is included for some reason.
OVERALL---While it’s nowhere near a masterpiece horror and art fans should certainly check this film out if they get a chance. It got a limited theatrical run without much buzz but hopefully its DVD release will get more word behind it. Lions Gate has given us a very good Special Edition with some nice extras as well as a nice 5.1 mix. The picture quality is on the blah side but this is more than likely due to the fact that this was a 16mm blown up to 35mm.
Release Date: July 13, 2004
