Singapore Sling--Film Review

I woke in a panic after the most disturbing dream: Li'l and Big Edie Beale (from "Grey Gardens" fame) had kidnapped a man and were torturing him, only breaking the tempo of punishment to make love. I turned over to quietly contemplate my obvious insanity, when I noticed the case for "Singapore Sling" sitting by my bedside...I wasn't dreaming.

I picked this film with the thought that I'd be viewing my first Greek horror film. My assumption was partly right: it is Greek. Nothing could have prepared me for what writer/director Nikos Nikolaidis delivers, for better and for worse. This is not horror, no matter the section of the video store it resides. Instead, aspects from many genres are mashed together to make the bizarre tale of a family who's outrageous wealth affords them the time to kidnap, torture, murder and, finally, bury their victims in their garden to help them grow the most beautiful flowers. "Daddy says people make the best fertilizer," the daughter says with glee. With only the mother and daughter left alive, a detective searching for one of their victims comes upon the estate and is captured. Now, the real fun begins.

The madness that ensues owes as much to Pasolini and Buñuel as anything in the realm of horror. The dark, very dark, satire on the excesses of the ultra-rich is demonstrated much more sharply from his predecessors, but Nikolaidis carves a niche by dwelling on the sexual transgressions and evoking his own native tragedy as the mother and daughter, playing strophe and antistrophe, address the audience directly with commentary on the action. Using black and white photography with high contrast expressionistic lighting, he creates an instantly intriguing silent movie atmosphere full of anachronism that readily allows for the heaps of absurdity piled into it.

"Singapore Sling" is the kind of pleasant surprise that helps to justify the time and money I've invested on some of the most awful genre movies imaginable (see "Salon Kitty"...actually, please don't). It's generally a losing proposition but, when you'll watch just about anything, you will hit the jackpot sometimes. The film is often quite derivative, and isn't quite the jackpot, but it is often beautiful and always insane. Make no mistake, the content truly is explicit, so buyer beware, but I guarantee there isn't much else like it.

Alas, I have yet to see a Greek horror film...the hunt continues....