Released in 2007 and written/directed by Mark Allen, "Delirium" is a slasher flick about six bickering college youths in Southern California who breakdown in the desert on their way to San Diego for Spring Break. As they try walking to the nearest town a mad slasher attacks.
This movie was shot in 8.5 days and reportedly cost a little less than $9000; I'm sure most of that was spent on wages, lodging & catering for the cast/crew. In light of this, you have to be braced for no-budget quality, like hand-held digital cams, inconsistent sound quality, lame & redundant non-score, dubious acting, tedious pacing, eye-rolling dialogue and so on. If you can handle these weaknesses, there are some rewarding elements to "Delirium."
Some of the dialogue between the youths is bad and unrealistic, like when the group arrives at the diner and the following conversation at the table. This, generally speaking, shows that the characters are slasher archetypes rather than real people. You have the rash alpha male who thinks with his fists, the promiscuous (supposed) hottie, the geek, the token black dude, the man-hating lesbian and the semi-virginal female protagonist. Most of these archetypes were later showcased in the satirical "The Cabin in the Woods" (2012). While most of these characters are also stereotypes, two of them definitely aren't. Both the female protagonist (Tallia Cuellar) and the black guy (Donovan Smith) are fleshed-out quite well by the end and have some good dialogues, particularly a well-done conversation in the last act. Both are actually pretty decent actors. The Sheriff (Mike Burnell) is even better and is obviously a professional actor. Burnell had to pull-off numerous solo scenes and does so convincingly.
The opening & ending credits song by Splitfinger is heavy, raw, primal and excellent (in fact, it's almost worth the price of admission) whereas the non-score is, at best, serviceable, albeit redundant (I'm sure Allen was shooting for a "Jaws"-like musical motif). Unfortunately, most of the happenings during the first hour are uneventful and tedious, but I suppose it could be argued that the movie DOES put you where the kids are – stuck in the open desert, bored, frustrated, and trying to find a way out.
As hinted above, I didn't find the blond hottie hot, but you might find her appealing if you like tall, thin women. The lesbian character is a turn-off because she's so hateful and one-dimensional, but then I found myself having compassion for her by the climax because it becomes clear what brought her to where she is. Tallia Cuellar is, by far, the best of the women. She's not blow-your-mind ravishing or anything, but she's a quality actress and her character is likable and unique.
The action/gore sequences are nothing to write home about, but they're not bad either considering the non-budget. I laughed at a couple of the slayings or near-slayings, particularly the meat cleaver and kitchen knife episodes. The reason my title blurb says "The Shadow knows" is because that's curiously who the murderer looks like, The Shadow. By the way, you'll suspect who the killer is before the first act is over.
Micro-budget films can be quite good, as 2006' "The Lonely Ones" and 2013's "Another Kind" attest, but those flicks cost $100,000 and $120,000 respectively. "Delirium had less than a tenth of that to work with (!). I've seen do-it-yourself flicks that cost around what "Delirium" cost and they totally sucked. "Delirium" doesn't suck as bad and has a good message at the end that's almost enlightening (notice I said "almost"). If I were to rate it in comparison to other independent flicks that cost about the same amount I'd give it a solid grade of B. My lower grade below is in relation to slasher flicks in general and overall entertainment value.
To get anything good from "Delirium" you have to be able to acclimate to its almost-no budget style and limitations. I did and therefore did.
The film runs 80 minutes and was shot in the Ocotillo, California, region.
GRADE: Borderline C- or D+ (3.5 out of 10)
This movie was shot in 8.5 days and reportedly cost a little less than $9000; I'm sure most of that was spent on wages, lodging & catering for the cast/crew. In light of this, you have to be braced for no-budget quality, like hand-held digital cams, inconsistent sound quality, lame & redundant non-score, dubious acting, tedious pacing, eye-rolling dialogue and so on. If you can handle these weaknesses, there are some rewarding elements to "Delirium."
Some of the dialogue between the youths is bad and unrealistic, like when the group arrives at the diner and the following conversation at the table. This, generally speaking, shows that the characters are slasher archetypes rather than real people. You have the rash alpha male who thinks with his fists, the promiscuous (supposed) hottie, the geek, the token black dude, the man-hating lesbian and the semi-virginal female protagonist. Most of these archetypes were later showcased in the satirical "The Cabin in the Woods" (2012). While most of these characters are also stereotypes, two of them definitely aren't. Both the female protagonist (Tallia Cuellar) and the black guy (Donovan Smith) are fleshed-out quite well by the end and have some good dialogues, particularly a well-done conversation in the last act. Both are actually pretty decent actors. The Sheriff (Mike Burnell) is even better and is obviously a professional actor. Burnell had to pull-off numerous solo scenes and does so convincingly.
The opening & ending credits song by Splitfinger is heavy, raw, primal and excellent (in fact, it's almost worth the price of admission) whereas the non-score is, at best, serviceable, albeit redundant (I'm sure Allen was shooting for a "Jaws"-like musical motif). Unfortunately, most of the happenings during the first hour are uneventful and tedious, but I suppose it could be argued that the movie DOES put you where the kids are – stuck in the open desert, bored, frustrated, and trying to find a way out.
As hinted above, I didn't find the blond hottie hot, but you might find her appealing if you like tall, thin women. The lesbian character is a turn-off because she's so hateful and one-dimensional, but then I found myself having compassion for her by the climax because it becomes clear what brought her to where she is. Tallia Cuellar is, by far, the best of the women. She's not blow-your-mind ravishing or anything, but she's a quality actress and her character is likable and unique.
The action/gore sequences are nothing to write home about, but they're not bad either considering the non-budget. I laughed at a couple of the slayings or near-slayings, particularly the meat cleaver and kitchen knife episodes. The reason my title blurb says "The Shadow knows" is because that's curiously who the murderer looks like, The Shadow. By the way, you'll suspect who the killer is before the first act is over.
Micro-budget films can be quite good, as 2006' "The Lonely Ones" and 2013's "Another Kind" attest, but those flicks cost $100,000 and $120,000 respectively. "Delirium had less than a tenth of that to work with (!). I've seen do-it-yourself flicks that cost around what "Delirium" cost and they totally sucked. "Delirium" doesn't suck as bad and has a good message at the end that's almost enlightening (notice I said "almost"). If I were to rate it in comparison to other independent flicks that cost about the same amount I'd give it a solid grade of B. My lower grade below is in relation to slasher flicks in general and overall entertainment value.
To get anything good from "Delirium" you have to be able to acclimate to its almost-no budget style and limitations. I did and therefore did.
The film runs 80 minutes and was shot in the Ocotillo, California, region.
GRADE: Borderline C- or D+ (3.5 out of 10)
