R0 NTSC
Shock-O-Rama/Pop Cinema
Splatter
Disco is an ode to fetishes of all types and a call to resist the hypocrisy of moralists.
However, if that was all it was, it would be a fun film but John Water’s has
done it a lot better. But when you add in a killer who starts to slaughter the
clubs clientele in gruesome ways you have a very unusual movie. A fetish music
and stalker film !
Kent
Chubb runs Den O’ Iniquity, a fetish club located in conservative Massachusetts.
It has been around for a long time starting as a Gentlemen’s club in the early 1900’s.
Along the way it has constantly had to fight against those who want to close it
down and once again the battle is on, this time against a narrow minded council
and hypocritical moralists. But there is a greater danger hiding in the
shadows.
The
Chubbs are a strange family, his father Shank, is dying and but very sure of
how he sees the world. Kent has some confidence issues but works to walk in his
father’s footsteps. Together they are committed to the Den O’ Iniquity as their
family business. The Den O’ Iniquity bills itself as a safe place for
fetishists to express themselves; there are no drugs or weapons of any kind and
they put safety first even banning dildos over 13 inches ! There are lots of
furries, open sexuality, leather, whips and more. There is even a guy who rolls
himself up in a carpet and likes to get walked on and, of course, let’s not
forget the pirates !
While
Splatter Disco is filled with fetishism, intrigue and dancing, we are also
treated to a range of musical numbers and some good lessons about openness, there
is even a love story that unfolds throughout the film and lots of humour.
At
the same time, of course, there are the murders, but they are really less of
the focus of the film than the title suggests. While they add a bit of blood
and gore to the equation, the major focus is the battle between freedom of expression
and Puritanism, expressed in a very fun and amusing way. In many ways the
moralist conservatives look like they are based on the “Westboro Baptist Church”
and its hate filled God Hate Fags message and so the film has a bit of a
message..
As
the Mayor and his mean spirited mother plant drugs in the club, it looks like the
furries and fetishists and a hippie attorney still on a trip from the Sixties
must uncover the conspiracy against them and find the murderer before it is too
late.
While
this is clearly a low budget film, it has a strange charm, crossing genres to
create a rather unusual and fun cult cinema experience.
This review will appear in Volume 2 No.2
(2009) of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.
If you came to this page directly (and
missed our menu), click here
to go to the Synergy Magazine front page. (http://www.synergy-magazine.com)