The Monster Hunter (1999)

I was walking through my local big-chain video rental place looking for something cool to watch. I come across a video box that says "David Carradine is THE MONSTER HUNTER." Sounded promising. The cover picture was of good IL' Mr. Carradine looking really cool in a black suit with sunglasses and holding a gun and there were pictures of demon-looking guys in wanted posters. It looked as though it was gonna be like a cheap Men In Black. I pick up the box and look at the back and the tag line reads "Evil Dead meets Natural Born Killers," and being a big Evil Dead head I liked the direction is was going. There was also a quote about the movie on the box. Generally they are something like "An Awesome Thrill Ride!!!" (more than one exclamation point is a must) and they are usually said by some film critic from a publication that you've never heard of. This one said "Great!" - Quentin Tarantino. This was another good sign because Quentin knows movies.Based on all of these things I thought it'd be a gory, low-budget, Buffy-meets-MIB flick. However it wasn't. The reality is that it is a comedy, half-mockumentary about a serial killer in an East Texas town. Carradine is less of a bad ass and more of a half-crazed rogue FBI agent who can see the "demon" inside serial killers and their victims. The real star of the film is Michael Bowen who plays Willie the serial killer and does a phenomenal job in making him a somewhat sympathetic character in a film where you really feel sorry for no one. However, once I got over the fact that the box was lying, I really enjoyed the silliness of this film. Nothing like the Evil Dead and only kind of like Natural Born Killers, The Monster Hunter (or Natural Selection as I came to find was the real title) is a funny little low-budget movie. As long as you know the truth of the movie's premise then you should enjoy it.

I saw this movie on Showtime recently and I had a ball. Sometimes it was a little rough around the edges, but I laughed a lot. Hell, the monster gags even freaked me out. Very creative film. It is nice to see that small independent genre films can still find an audience. Check it out when you can.

Poor old David Carradine. You thought "Kung-Fu: The Legend Continues" was undignified? It gets worse. Remember, five or so years ago, when 'serial killer' movies were really edgy? It's over. Like Robert Rodriguez's worse outings, "Natural Selection" has the feel of a film made by film fans, not filmmakers. Worse yet, those involved appear to believe that all it takes to make a film is to emulate the likes of Rodriguez, Tarrantino or Oliver Stone (of course with the title, subject matter and style come the inevitable "Natural Born Killers" comparisons - one can't help wonder if maybe the filmmakers wanted this).The film is predicated on a single phrase: "Black Comedy about serial killers." The plot (two serial killers in one small town try to kill each other) is entirely secondary to the writer's attempts to showcase their preteen comic stylings. Black Comedy requires keen wit and irony, neither of which this film has, satisfying itself instead with a string of childish jokes and poorly-conceived, 'absurdist' situations. The dimestore dada really highlights the filmmakers' heavy-handedness - there is a particular sequence, involving a fight and a phone call, which almost works, but is completely undone by massive over- exposition in the dialogue. The writers REALLY wanted to make sure you "got it."I saw this film during a trip to Austin, Texas. I don't suspect anyone will ever see it anywhere else; I just can't see the market for a second-rate entry into a dead-horse genre.

I think that the best movies are those that evoke a gut level emotional response, whether it is disgust or laughter, and this one is right on target. In addition to a big grin, I left with the feeling of just going on a whirlwind ride through small town Texas, a witness to the absurdity and humor of real life so well captured by the talented writers and skillfully communicated by the actors. This movie is not for the politically correct anal-lizers, but best enjoyed by the regular person, the one who looks twice at a car wreck and the one who isn't afraid to find humor in the ugliness of this world. It offers the viewer a glimpse of the underbelly of mundane suburbia, a place where oddity is alive and well. Natural Selection moves adeptly between the disturbing tale of madness and murder and the documentary scenes that provide a sort of delightfully sick comic relief to the starkness of human nature's hideousness. The juxtaposition of disgust and humor made me constantly anticipate what would flash before me next. I loved being an observer of White Hills and its cast of characters, together bringing a sweeping view of the strangeness of humanity. From Bowen's brilliant and scary Willie, to his hilariously ignorant cousins, to the insanity of Carradine's Dehoven, to the pitifully funny, monkey collecting parents of one of Willie's victims and all the other eccentrics, I bounced between the reality of these lives well portrayed by the cast and brought up from the Texas dust by the writing of B.J. Burrow and Allen Odom, an up and coming team that promise more great work. This unique movie had the theater in its grasp, and never failed to hold me in this bizarre place. I enjoyed every engaging minute and was sad to see it end. I hope that everyone gets to take the ride through White Hills. It's a great trip!