Stray Dogs (1985)

Richard Kern's Stray Dogs is one fourth of an anthology short film by the name of Manhattan Love Suicides, which is one of the many shorts included on Hardcore Collection: The Films of Richard Kern. Stray Dogs follows a series of grotesque characters, one of them played by David Wojnarowicz, who plays an obsessed fan, who desperately tries to get the attention of an actor he adores. It isn't until he starts literally tearing himself apart does the attention he craves begin to surface.Stray Dogs is an interesting idea of how far one will go to get the attention of the one they love; it's also one of the most grounded (aka normal) Richard Kern shorts I have yet to see. Its reliance on punk imagery, genitalia, and gruesomeness is stunningly minimal and Kern tries harder to focus on a story rather than an amalgamation of styles and concepts. However, this, in turn, makes for a decidedly less interesting project because we know how wild Kern can be, and here, he seems to be simply holding back on us, refusing to release his inner beast. Wojnarowicz is a performer with a unique appearance and over-the-top acting style, and Kern is clearly experimenting with stricter narrative restraints and even black and white imagery, but ultimately, there's not a great deal here to warrant a recommendation when other Kern shorts like The Bitches, The Sewing Circle, and You Killed Me First desperately need to be seen.Starring: David Wojnarowicz, William Rice, and Robin Renzi. Directed by: Richard Kern.

those in darkness drop from sight.Not too long ago, I wrote one of my favorite actresses on twitter and sadly she did not respond. Thankfully I could control myself and did not rip off my arm, but this must be the way the fan in this 10-minute short-film has felt. People who've seen chunks of Richard Kern's work will agree that his films are at least as weird as David Lynch's, just not as popular.The story of this one shot in black and white is quite simple: Obsessed fan follows his favorite artist all the way into his flat, keeps watching him and doing obscenities as well. When you're in the mood for something odd, this is a good pick, otherwise I wouldn't really recommend it, surely one one for the masses.

A very strange little short by New York based Nick Zedd. This one follows a man who is in love with his favorite local artist.He follows him home and makes numerous unwanted sexual advances on the middle aged male painter, who ignores him throughout. Sexually frustrated he begin's to tear himself apart (literally) and not until he is a bloody dying mess on the floor does the artist take any notice, in the way of a sarcastic laugh. Very very odd. Watch it.