In a story of crowd-funding gone wrong, Herbert Blount (Penn Jillette) donates money to a film production in an attempt to get closer to the film’s lead actress, Missi Pyle.  When production doesn’t meet his expectations Blount takes over production by kidnapping the star and shooting his own version. 

This thing is bananas. Weird. Odd. Funny. Slyly winking. In your face. A meta combination of serial killer movie, behind-the-scenes commentary, and psychotic fan letter. And it’s got Penn Jillette all over it. Literally. Jillette plays mega-fan and funder of a film in production called Knocked Off.  The movie, as scripted, is the typical cop vs. serial killer film that we have seen a million times before. Of course, with his love for the film’s star in overdrive, and the film not going the way he likes, Blount decides to kidnap the star and construct his own second half to the film using  leftover footage and Adobe After Effects.  The result is a multilayered industry joke that serves as a commentary on the nature of fandom and crowd funding.

Missi Pyle (Left) and Herbert Blount played by Penn Jillette (Right)

After reading that, you probably already know whether or not you want to watch it, regardless of the rest of this review. But here it comes anyway.

As the movie begins the joke is set up immediately.  Blount presses “play” and begins talking over the movie, providing running commentary.  The original movie concerns the hunt for a serial killer, and the look of it is really nice: the acting is good, the special effects are decent and shockingly bloody, the familiar faces are fun (Hi Teller! Hi Gilbert Gottfried!), and it seems exactly like a movie I might add to my Netflix queue. Blount complains that the movie, as it was, was terrible and he wanted to take over production.

The first third of the movie is, for the most part, intact as shot. Complete with the screaming police chief (Lin Shaye), open space detective room, and gritty, blue tones.  We meet a pair of cops, Winter (Harry Hamlin) and Reed (Hayes MacArthur). They are assigned to investigate a series of killings that emulate famous serial murders, but they are given a new partner, Mabel (Missi Pyle). As this by-the-numbers cop flick plays out Blount adds his snarky commentary.

To recap: Missi Pyle plays Missi Pye playing FBI Agent Mable. Harry Hamlin plays Harry Hamlin playing Detective Godfrey Winters, in the new crowdfunded movie Knocked Off, in which a serial killer is emulating the crimes of other notorious serial killers, while Penn Jillette (of magic duo Penn & Teller) plays Herbert Blount, a stalker-fan of the actual Missi Pyle who buys his way onto set via the afore-mentioned crowdfunder, kidnaps Missi Pyle, steals the footage, and re-edits it to his own liking, inserting himself into the scenes and becoming the hero, all the while narrating what you’re seeing via voiceovers and on-screen scribblings.

Got that?

The actual film continues to play out, interspersed with Blount’s own guerrilla movie making tactics inserted into the mix making the film “better” in his words.  We see through body-cam, found-footage style that Blount’s romantic advances reach a peak when he visits the set and then infiltrates Pyle’s dressing room. Blount kidnaps the star and begins shooting the rest of the movie himself, in his basement studio.

Ingeniously directed by Adam Rifkin, Director’s Cut adds layer upon layer of pretense. Rifkin says, “Director’s Cut is an actual crowdfunded movie about a fictitious crowdfunded movie in which one of the film’s fictitious crowdfunders kidnaps the actual star of the movie-within-the-movie so that he can make his own amateur third movie out of stolen footage from the second movie along with additional amateur footage he shoots himself, which ultimately creates a fourth movie which is the movie-within-the-movie-within-the-movie-within-the-movie that we call Director’s Cut.”

This movie is a deliciously convoluted mind bender that is as much fun to watch as it is to figure out.

Teller in a delightfully funny cameo.

I love Penn & Teller (spoiler alert: I’m a fan). I assumed Penn’s voiceovers and asides would be distracting at least, and overwhelmingly annoying at most. I was wrong. Very wrong. Not only did they add to what was happening on screen, they picked things up when the story got predictable.  It was like watching MST3K but instead of Joel Hodgson and the robots, we had Herbert Blount, super fan and self appointed film maker. Blount gives twisted insight about the characters, the actors playing them, the plot, the entire filmmaking process, as well as his own ongoing plans to “re-direct” the film using a kidnapped Missi Pyle (who is having a helluva fun time with this role), footage filmed in secret with hidden cameras, and re-edited scenes with Penn and Missi hilariously green-screened into the middle of the action. It’s one of the most unique visions I’ve ever seen, and I had a blast watching it.

After Effects can really pull off believable shots.

I doubt this movie is for everyone. I saw it as goofy, observant, and entertaining, and if you’re really willing to open up your head to a new kind of movie/video/brain-fever experience, you should definitely check this out.

Uncle Mike sez so.

If you are in the Hollywood area and want to check out this new pic, it is screening TONIGHT at the Hollywood Arclight as part of the Slamdance Cinema Club.

GET TICKETS HERE