Satan's Little Helper (2004)
Starring: Alexander Brickel, Katheryn Winnick, Stephen Graham
Writer: Jeff Lieberman
Director: Jeff Lieberman
Synopsis:
Douglas plays the fucking shit out of a video game titled Satan's Little Helper, a flash representation of murder and nightmarish violence. On their way to pick up his older sister (who is traveling by boat from college to spend Halloween with her little brother), Douglas' mother unknowingly embeds the idea into his head that Satan could in fact be some evil being roaming around with a horned mask on. Well, the sister, Jenna, has brought a boy along with her named Alex, and Dougie aint havin' that shit. He goes into brat mode and ditches her when they arrive at the house, to go on a neighborhood search for his malevolent idol. Since it's Halloween, Douglas happens to be wearing a Satan's Little Helper outfit that his mother created for him. And also since it's Halloween, a fucking maniac just happens to be roaming the neighborhood, slaughtering homeowners and leaving their bodies out in front yards as scary displays. Nobody thinks a thing, it's Halloween! Dougie crosses paths with “Satan” while he's in the midst of creating one of these yard displays and asks him if he can be his little helper. Satan nods yes and they walk down the street holding hands jubilantly. Douglas, being the impressionable youngin' he is, thinks it's all just a big game, so he also asks Satan if he'll kill Jenna's new boyfriend... Satan nods yes again.
Rant:
I guess Jeff Lieberman isn't exactly a household name, not to everyone at least, but he's given us horror nerds some great shit in the past- Squirm in '76, Blue Sunshine in '78, TV movie Dr. Franken in '80 (which I have not seen, so I don't actually know if it's great, but the title is cool), Just Before Dawn in '81, and the Sci-Fi Horror Comedy Remote Control in '88. Afterward, he branched off into TV comedy and did a few documentaries, then took a break. In 2004 he came back with comedy horror greatness, Satan's Little Helper; a Halloween slasher heavily layered with religious overtones and social commentary on video games frying kids minds, potentially turning them into psychos. This shit is sadly underrated and rarely talked about, so that's what I'm here to do right now, as it is the perfect film to watch on Halloween.
The film is visually excellent for such a low budget. Tons of segues that jump from the video game action to the actual events in the film and it's a fucking awesome blend. Large use of steadicam, particularly in the cellar scenes with Dougie and Satan. There's a great Hitchcock-like overhead view from the center of a spiraling staircase, I love those kinda of shots, myself. ****spoilers→There's an awesome ass POV sequence of a victim losing consciousness from being suffocated by packaging tape←spoilers****. The movie was mostly shot under some heavy ass bright lighting, even at night. I usually find this annoyance; surprisingly, it didn't bother me here. Lastly, major fucking props to visual effects. While some of Satan's Little Helper was indeed filmed in Fall, a good amount was shot in July. Green grass and trees were digitized to give off a browned, yellowish look to them to fit into the season of Halloween. The movie was shot entirely in HD, which made the altering process easier, according to Lieberman. Had this not been brought up in the commentary, I never would have noticed.
Acting comes off a bit amateurish from a lot of the cast. Alexander Brickel as little Douglas does enough, but he's kinda laughable once he finds out that the doings of his idol aren't a joke. Hah, I had no problem with his performance, though. Katheryn Winnick plays Jenna the older sister, and goddamn she's hot! Kinda plastic in the acting department (not bad, just blah), but whatever, she's running around for 3/4ths of the movie in a slutty renaissance outfit. Worked for me, especially when she goes into bad ass mode. Stephen Graham works up the troubled boyfriend role, Alex, a theatrical student damaged by growing up with an abusive father. It's not pulled off all that well, and I spent most of the time thinking of him as a hipster other than caring for his well being. ****spoilers→Matter of fact, there's a showdown scene between the boyfriend and “Satan” where the boyfriend gets his fucking ass handed to him, and I was a fan←spoilers**** (high five to some awesome stuntmen in this scene). Amanda Plummer (Pulp Fiction) is a fuckin' show stealer as the Mom. Apparently she is hard to work with, not in a bitchy way, but in a way that she is really sporadic and never does a second take the same way. Thankfully, the editing process seams everything together well. Plummer throws some off kilter humor into the role, the kind of shit you're not sure you're supposed to laugh at. Love it. Lastly, Joshua Annex as “Satan”. The dude has not a word of dialog, but has some excellent fucking mannerisms. He essentially has to play two personalities under his devil mask; one being a cold blooded killer, the other a playful friend of a child. When Douglas kicks ass at a video game, “Satan” gives a victory fist. When Dougie displays his martial arts prowess (which is quite sad, btw), “Satan” gives him a gleeful two thumbs up. Mad props to Annex; he's also quite the eerie sicko when it's needed, as well.
Gore roll call:
****spoilers****
- an awesome looking throat slashing / a cat smashed against a wall and it's bloody head used to spell out “BOO” / stabbing / bloody gunshot through the hand / generic Drano poured into party punch which results in people convulsing on the ground while spitting out jizz looking stuff / disembowelment
****spoilers end****
The shit isn't Olaf Ittenbach out of control, but it's still pretty fucking nasty in a few scenes. Dig it!
Jeff Lieberman cites David Horowitz's music score as an ode to John Carpenter's infamous Halloween theme. I can kind of hear that, but I get some Manfredini influences out of it, too. What I found most interesting is the lack of music in some scenes. Lieberman wanted to go all realistic during sequences that are nothing more than just conversation between characters, and it's pretty awesome. Moreover, there's a few buildup scenes that use little to no score, and I'm here to tell you that it helps the the film succeed with uncomfortable and creepy atmosphere, especially in a scenes where “Satan” is slowly pursuing someone. Lastly, there is also no quick jolting one-note shit to produce jump scares when someone pops up onscreen from out of nowhere. Salute!
It's awesome that Satan's Little Helper has somewhat of a cult following, but I'd like to see the fanbase grow more than just the occasional praise on message boards and blog sites. It definitely deserves it. The film is a great addition to Halloween viewing, containing an old school slasher feel with plenty of black humor and quirkiness to keep the pace from stuttering. Check it out!
****spoilers in slides****
