Way Down in Chinatown

I've seen some weird movies in my time, most of them forgettable (proven by the fact that right now I can't name one example), but this film has to be one of the weirdest films ever, and I wont be forgetting it any time soon. The main reason it's going to be so unforgettable isn't the weirdness, but because I came away from watching it feeling pretty damn disturbed by some of the characters I was introduced to (and in some cases, not introduced to at all) who live Way Down In China Town, the team who put this film together certainly succeeded in their mission if it was to leave the viewer disturbed.

So, in summary, this film, visually and audibly weird, disturbing, confusing and bloody brilliant! As for the worms? Don't ask…spoilers :P

Eric Michael Kochmer's "Way Down In Chinatown" is an artfilm that blends sci-fi, noir, and the surreal in a truly experimental "Dada-esque" overture. The story follows a playwright and his lover/director out to create the ultimate avant garde musical about a love affair in the time of the Apocalypse. The film is really extreme expressionist's theatre born of the underground. I could not honestly begin to explain everything that this film is trying to do, or really shed light on all that the director/writer Kochmer is intending for the audience to take away from the movie. It, like a lot of experimental art, is meant for the viewer to take way from it whatever his mind chooses. "Way Down In Chinatown stars Stephanie Sanditz, Justin Dray, Maria Olsen, Eric Michael Kochme and of course the American folk song "Goodnight Irene". That sound takes on a very bizarre character within this movie.

The story is a dark melodrama with a heavy despondent atmosphere. It plays on the passion and fire that drives creativity, and counters it with the hollow emptiness that comes from producing it for the masses. The surrealistic visual moments of the film are reminiscent of American neo-Dada of the 50's, with momentary hints of German modern experimental theatre. The use of the worm, as representative to the disease of success and marketability of artistry as industry, carries heavily through the film. (At least from my perspective-that is what I took away from this piece. There is also a opus to success devouring the very cradle that nurtured it.) It is not horror in the sense that it is scary or affirmative in standard nightmare follies. So the standard horror audience will take nothing from this film but heartache. However for those who love to explore beyond the standard repertoire , seeking for more emotionally and mentally provoking formats, then you will be enthralled by the expressionism and avant garde aspects of the film. "Way Down In Chinatown" fits into that small group of films that cannot really be categorized as one specific genre. The elements of so many play out in an almost Dante meets Shakespeare fashion.

This low budget art film has a few very hilarious moments, some surprisingly great acting, and is just weird enough to maintain viewer interest in where things are going. However, the film suffers from leaden pacing, obtuse plot, and grating sound design.

A 30-something playwright and his wife attempt to cast and put together a musical focused on the end of the world, but matters become complicated once they bring in some demonic producers (played by the actual director and producer of the film), start cheating on each other, and lose their sense of reality. Perhaps the real apocalypse starts too loom as well? It's difficult to tell - this isn't the kind of film that delineates between the story's reality and the characters' hallucinations.

In many respects it owes a lot to David Lynch and David Cronenberg, recycling a lot of "plot" (if you can call it that) elements from MULHOLLAND DRIVE including a focus on a small box, a subplot involving entertainers putting together a production, and a befuddled protagonist succumbing to a lesbian seduction. Also things seem vaguely centered around the concept of parasitic worms which spread corruption through oral contact, echoing SHIVERS, though nothing is really spelled out. What keeps things somewhat original though is a focus around the oncoming end times, but this element is largely undone by how it's portrayed, reminding me of the old Star Trek episode "The Alternative Factor" in which the universe winks out periodically and everyone gets disoriented. In this film, the apocalypse is realized (annoyingly) by frequent clouding of the picture accompanied by a sound negatively comparable to nails on the chalkboard, causing characters to fall ill or simply drop dead. If being exposed to audio/visual nuisances and confusion is your sort of thing, look no further, because there is a lot of that this film.

Even if the film doesn't feel completely original, it's largely saved by terrific and convincing work from most of the cast who look like they're having a ball. Strangely enough, despite WAY DOWN IN CHINATOWN's shortcomings, it actually manages to be more accessible, interesting, and successfully surreal than most of its inspiration David Lynch's recent and more expensive work.