When I received the line-up of films for the
LA Film Festival, there were some 5 or 6 films that
immediately jumped out at me as if to say, “you must see me, you must
review me.” One of them was THE BEACH PARTY AT THE THRESHOLD OF HELL.
As if the fact that Jane Seymour (whose talent and graciousness I
respect more than you know) wasn’t enough of a reason to see the film,
her daughter Katie Flynn is line producer. Those of you that know me,
know that I have a passion for multi-generational film and tv families,
being in one myself. But, the icing on the cake came before I even had a
chance to see the film. At the LAFF Filmmaker Reception, I met the
talented group of filmmakers responsible for BEACH PARTY AT THE
THRESHOLD OF HELL. Their individual and collective enthusiasm alone was
enough to convince me this was a film not to miss and one destined to
become a cult classic. Boy was I right. The film is as exciting and
exuberant as the creative forces behind it. And thanks to their
collective talents - and especially writer/director/star Kevin Wheatley,
the movie world is about to get a “s**tload brighter” because of it.
 Set
in the year 2096, “New America” has emerged from the apocalypse of
2075. Called the “Sunstroke Days” by historians, between May 17 and
19, 2075, America and the world met its demise. With only a handful of
survivors (okay, maybe 1,000,000), the bulk of them lived in bunkers
underground for 20 years. One such survivor was Tex Kennedy. An eighth
generation of THE Kennedy clan, he emerges from his bunker a grown man.
Sadly, his robot protectors had to live outside the bunker and wait and
wait and wait and wait and . . . You get the idea. Having existed alone
with nothing but a radio transmission from self-proclaimed King of
America, Clark Remington, Kennedy is a man with a mission - a mission to
travel from Los Angeles to The Threshold of Hell in search of Remington’s
appointed successor, his nephew Benny Remington. But as one might
suspect, Kennedy’s mission is not as easy as it seems.
With his trusty robot protectors, Yul and
Quincy, by his side, the three make their way across the vast wasteland
of New America and to no one’s surprise, encounter pockets of other
survivors along the way - and all with a similar but self-serving
mission. Vince “The Jackle” Remington, son of Clark Remington, wants
to eliminate his cousin Benny and take his place as King of New America.
But his right hand man, Marcellus St. Joan has other ideas. Then, of
course, there is the Devil himself, Yorick, and his followers, the
Children of the Second Sun, none of whom have aged the past 20 years and
who self-heal when injured based on their purity and faith in Yorick,
who sees himself as ruler of the New World. (Oy vay!) And lest we forget
Cannibal Sue whose name speaks for itself.
It has long been Yorick’s mandate that
no one enter the Threshold of Hell. Employing some rather extraordinary
measures to insure the “sanctity” of his domain, it’s no wonder
Yorick is somewhat amazed when Tex, Yul and Quincy, together with Benny
(whom they located not 4 kilometers from the Threshold) and a caged
Cannibal Sue, are found in The Threshold. Even bigger surprise when The
Jackle and his group of bandits are found there. But wait a minute!!
Even Javier Castro, eight generation from Fidel Castro, gets caught
rafting his way over to New America from Cuba. And things get even
stranger when Kennedy and Castro find themselves on the same side!
Camp, comedy and craziness abound as each
faction has one goal - to take control of the strongest radio
transmitter tower in the country. With a signal strong enough to travel
from sea to shining sea, across the amber waves of grain and over
America’s purple mountain majesties, whoever controls the air waves
will control the country. (Ah, look out world, my dad has towers in his
backyard!) For Tex and his crew, their goal is get Benny on the air to
announce himself as successor to his uncle. For everyone else,
well..............
Written and directed by Kevin Wheatley,
he wields cunning sarcasm with Ginzu-knife precision in his script
writing. His blend of dark irony and semi-serious overtones, add a
modicum of "authenticity" to the film, but it is the tightrope
that he walks with the script that brings the comedic elements to the
forefront. Done in the format of an “historical documentary” or
retrospective, the underlying socio-political commentary adds a richness
to the film that everyone should be able to appreciate. From a Cuban
arriving in America on a raft, wondering if a robot can cook and clean
for him in his country, references to LA having only 3 survivors from
Armageddon (namely, Tex, Yul and Quincy) the struggle for power and key
being the media air waves, the irony to is staggering while being both
funny and sad. And of course, the obvious care and consideration taken
in the selection of the character’s names is hysterical in and of
itself.
Directed by Wheatley along with Jonny
Gillette, the two employ live action, animation, old news clips and
every camera trick in the book to have just enough to whet everyone’s
palette. Key visuals speak volumes and bring to the forefront “the
more things change, the more things stay the same) and particularly one
with Tex Kennedy looking out of a porthole into “space” as if in
homage to the vision of his ancestor President John F. Kennedy with the
space race. On the downside, there are several sequences that could have
and should be shortened to aid in the overall flow and pacing.
Crucial to the success of this film is
the Cameron Pearce’s cinematography and editing. What could have been
“cheap and trashy looking” instead has an even blend of a myriad of
effects. Both exemplary and impressive, he clearly shares the directors’
collective vision and doesn’t disappoint. Truly big budget and big
studio quality and given the mix of animation, color, desaturation,
sepia tones, live performance and a true hellish beach location (aka a
broiling sun and beach in Pensacola, Florida), the result is phenomenal.
Given the caliber of excellence of his work in BEACH PARTY, I am anxious
to see what the future holds for Cameron’s talents (besides a
sequel!). Just a modicum of horror effects (seems everyone gets their
heart ripped out or die when their eyes are poked out), the film is
truly a campy fun-filled delight.
The acting is first rate (which is not
generally the case in a film like this). Intertwining the minuscule, but
oh-so-serious apocalyptic performance by Jane Seymour as President
Coffey with the pure irony and comedic relief in the performances by
Chandler Parker as Yul, Paul Whitty as Quincy and Kevin Wheatley doing
triple duty as Tex Kennedy, you find yourself begging to see more from
all of them. Wheatley is so Clooney-esque in both his actions and
self-deprecating wit and delivery that I can actually envision George
Clooney in this role. A stand-out, though is Ted Schneider as Marcellus
St. Joan. With shades of Tony Randall, David Hyde Pierce and a touch of
early James Spader, he is THE one to watch. And I would be remiss not to
mention Daniel Baldwin as Clark Remington. It doesn’t seem to matter
which Baldwin brother is in a role, they are all excellent, and here is
no different.
One thing I rarely get a chance to
mention is the multi-tasking of a crew. Here, the cohesiveness of then
project is openly apparent and I believe it is attributable to the fact
many of the cast and crew wore multiple hats. By multi-tasking, each
developed a sense of what is necessary to pull a film together -
especially a fun-filled campy film like this - and clearly developed an
appreciation of each technical area and the need to understand them all
to achieve a well-rounded result.
Part Coen-esque (as in Coen Brothers), a
little bit Saturday afternoon serials of the 30'’s and 40's, even a
and 50's, some definite Rocky Horror and even a touch of Dudley Do-Right
narration and there is something here for everyone. Oh yea - we’re all
going to Hell - The BEACH PARTY AT THE THRESHOLD OF HELL that is. From
the puns to the palette, this is one vacation in Hell that I won’t
mind taking again! Yep, the world is about to get a s**tload brighter!
Kevin Wheatley: Tex Kennedy Paul Whitty:
Quincy the Robot Chandler Parker: Yul the Robot Jamie Bullock: Cannibal
Sue Ted Schneider: Marcellus St. Joan Daniel Baldwin: Clark Remington
Directed by Kevin Wheatley and Jonny
Gillette. Written by Kevin Wheatley.
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