The trailer for the release of The Rambler has just come online and it is an interesting one to say the least. It is directed by Calvin Lee Reeder, one of 2007’s ’25 New Faces of Independent Film’ (according to Film Maker magazine) and whom you may have seen in V/H/S as Gary from the Tape 56 segment of that movie. But I first became aware of his work when I met him at a UK Comic convention promoting his latest film, a low budget movie called Jerkbeast which was a great little punk trash classic about the world’s worst punk rock band, one of the members just happens to be a monster (or a guy in a suit I was never sure on that detail!).
What I am sure about though is that film was a lot of fun. This film seems to be a lot darker. Here is the plot outline from YouTube channel FilmFestivalVideos.
[box_light]Upon release from prison, a solitary man known only as “the Rambler” embarks on a mysterious journey en route to reconnecting with his long-lost brother. Traversing treacherous back roads, lost highways, and isolated small towns, he unearths a multitude of bizarre and wickedly depraved slices of Americana.[/box_light]
But the film seems so much more than this. Here is the trailer.
The basic framework does appear to be just a guy from prison going on a journey of self discovery but the whole thing has a disturbing David Lynch style quality to it with quirky editing and musical choices to heighten this feeling of tension and unease. The scenes on show in the trailer enforce this notion even more with a large, hook handed boxer, the rambler with burn marks all over his face and a sinister collection of old people all greeting us as they greet the rambler. The lack of dialogue is also a key factor, meaning much more attention is given to the said images on show and the further into the trailer this goes, the weirder and more disturbing these images become.
The film does have some interesting set pieces to. Exploding houses, boxing matches, trippy encounters with women such as The Girl and the coven of old people all mixed in with a very western feeling backdrop are just a few things on show for the viewer to ponder over. The lack of big Hollywood names also helps to add to this films bizarre charm. The only people I could make out were the role of The Girl played by Lindsay Pulsipher who most people will know from her role in True Blood as Crystal Norris, and The Rambler himself played by Dermot Mulroney, a character actor who has popped up in numerous films and TV since the 80’s, but most recently worked on The Grey with Liam Neeson.
This, if nothing else this looks like quite an engaging movie and with the emphasis on unnerving audiences rather than bombarding them with explosions, it could be a good movie for anyone sick of the more main stream movie affairs. It does have explosions to if you fans of main stream movies want to give it a try!
Grizzly Bomb 