TRANSGRESSION
scared me a little in the beginning with what seemed to be the
usual mix of underground imagery Bondage, death, and religion
scenes all cut together to make a point about theology. But
this fortunately ended abruptly and moves into the meat of the
movie. This well crafted tale was put together in what seems
to be three parts, the killer's deeds and the television reporter
investigating him, and the reporter's dealings that he was put
through after being kidnapped and mentally tortured by the murderer.
TRANSGRESSION
opens with reporter Mary Selby (played by Molly Jackson) sitting
in a jail cell, waiting to meet her maker via the electric chair.
She writes in her journal, "I killed three men and found
God". She flashes back to an interview with Dr. Andre Zarem
(Marc St. Camille) and his thoughts on who the killer of several
prostitutes may be. His thoughts are intercut with the killer
wearing a back mask and claiming his next victim While recollecting
the events leading to her arrest, the film shows the killer
at work, claiming victim after victim, in a remote cabin. The
hapless victims are most often bound to an X-frame and their
throats are slashed. DiPaolo's camera never shies away from
the killer's deeds, or from showing us the personal enjoyment
of the blood of his victims. Sometimes the girls are wrapped
in black plastic while the murderer enjoys their last breath
o f life while rubbing up against the near corpse-like bodies.
The
killer starts to make contact with Mary, calling her at home.
She becomes more intrigued and starts to become involved in
the crimes. Her Boyfriend, Detective Ron Reyes (Julio Rodriguez)
acts like a father figure to Mary, and warns her that she may
get in too deep in this case. Eventually, the killer's infatuation
with Mary leads him to kidnap her, where she becomes his own
personal witness to his slayings. At one point, he ties a woman
up and says to Mary- "Either I slash her face, or kill
you...your call". Mary's vanity proves her undoing.
The
final minutes of TRANSGRESSION details the reporter's breakdown
after the ordeal. She turns into an alcoholic which destroys
the relationship with the detective. Mary's already tenuous
relationship with her mother and her dealings with men, who
she feels the need to tie up and torture. Which brings us to
the present and her meeting with the electric chair. TRANSGRESSION
is well shot and edited, which helps it overcome the inexperienced
acting in the first two thirds of the picture. Towards the end
of the film, DiPaolo pushes his actors into finer performances,
but by this time TRANSGRESSION is almost pure drama. For a first
feature on a meager budget, DiPaolo delivers a clever 90 minutes.
If he takes as much time and care with his next project, we
could have a new filmmaker to watch out for. Screem
Magazine - Number 7 - Shade Rupe
Transgression
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