SCREAM AND STREAM AGAIN: DIRECTOR’S CUT (2018) ***

(Streamed via IMDb TV)

Comedian/magician Penn Jillette (who also wrote the script) teams up with one of my favorite directors, Adam (The Dark Backward) Rifkin for this inspired, frequently funny horror-comedy.  It’s a little uneven, but it has the benefit of a unique and clever gimmick.  If you’ve watched as many director’s commentary tracks as I have, you should be able to appreciate it.

As the movie begins, we hear the voice of Herbert Blount (Jillette) on the soundtrack inviting the audience to listen to his director’s commentary.  He informs us this is his “director’s cut” in which he re-shot, re-edited, and re-instated new footage into the original film to preserve his artistic vision.  We quickly realize Blount is obviously obsessed with lead actress Missi Pyle (playing herself) and it soon becomes apparent his “new footage” is just stuff he filmed while stalking her.  Eventually, Blount resorts to kidnapping Missi and forcing her into completing his original vision of the film.

Jillette’s commentary is pretty hilarious.  As a fan of director’s commentary DVD’s, I appreciated the accuracy in which Rifkin and Jillette were able to mimic and skewer the artform.  I especially loved Jillette’s introduction of Harry Hamlin (who also plays himself):  “This is Harry Hamlin.  He’s only in movies because his wife is a reality show star.”  He also points out continuity errors and takes jabs at crowdfunding (which adds to the meta aspect because the film itself was a crowdfunded project).

Jillette dials down his usual abrasive persona and effectively creates a character that is part cinephile and part sociopath.  While his antics tend to get annoying the more he appears on screen, he’s quite good during the scenes where he’s only heard and not seen.  Likewise, the movie starts to run out of steam toward the end.  The premise is stretched particularly thin after Pyle is kidnapped and forced to shoot her “new” scenes.  However, there’s enough ingenuity here to make the gags work, and there are some hearty laughs to be had throughout (especially in the early going during the commentary track-heavy sequences). 

Pyle proves to be a tremendous sport throughout, but it’s the cameos that make it memorable.  My favorite bits include the appearances by Gilbert Gottfried, Lin Shaye, and Penn’s usual partner in crime, Teller.  Rifkin also plays himself, and even tosses in a fun nod to his previous work that I’m sure his fans will appreciate.

In short, this is another winner from Rifkin.  In lesser hands, this could’ve been a disaster, but Rifkin’s knack for combining the satiric with the surreal keeps the material from flying off the handle.  After the one-two punch of this and The Last Movie Star, it’s evident no one blends the real and reel like Rifkin.