1986 was a remarkable year for the young (18 years old) Christian Slater. He managed to obtain an important supportive role in Jean-Jacques Annaud's masterpiece adaptation of Eco's "The Name of the Rose", under the mentoring wings of the almighty Sean Connery, and a lead role in this - fairly obscure - thriller entitled "Twisted". Funnily enough, these two pivotal roles in Slater's early career couldn't possibly be more opposite to each other. Adso Von Melk in "The Name of the Rose" represents pure naivety and youthful innocence, whereas Mark in "Twisted" is a bad seed teenager of the vilest and most despicable kind.
As mentioned already, "Twisted" is quite obscure, and it's understandable why that is. It's not a bad film at all, but it's extremely unpleasant and borderline depressing to watch. Not only the subject matter is rough stuff, but also every single principal character is beyond loathsome. It's difficult to watch a film in which the only reasonably sympathetic person is a six-year-old girl with an armless doll (and maybe a kitten)...
Referring to Mark as a troubled teenager would be a major understatement. Mark is a rotten apple, a ticking timebomb that is guaranteed to detonate, a deeply disturbed and unworldly sociopath. And, what's even worse, his parents are clearly aware of their son's mental dysfunctions, but they prefer to ignore it and argue over insignificant things instead. Mark is a big fan of the Nazi party and forces the entire household to listen to loud and boisterous sounds of WWII fighter planes. He petrifies his poor little sister, kills innocent kittens and housemaids, humiliates the school's jock, and terrorizes the already mentally unstable new babysitter.
"Twisted" certainly isn't a very plausible movie, but there is nevertheless suspense and a few memorably shocking moments. Slater's character is so deplorable that you'll wish for him to die the most painful death imaginable, even though he's only supposed to be 15 or 16 years old, but also his "victims" deserve all the agony that overcomes them. The ending is disappointing, and even downright stupid, but "Twisted" still is recommend viewing for fans of curious 80s thrillers/horror.
As mentioned already, "Twisted" is quite obscure, and it's understandable why that is. It's not a bad film at all, but it's extremely unpleasant and borderline depressing to watch. Not only the subject matter is rough stuff, but also every single principal character is beyond loathsome. It's difficult to watch a film in which the only reasonably sympathetic person is a six-year-old girl with an armless doll (and maybe a kitten)...
Referring to Mark as a troubled teenager would be a major understatement. Mark is a rotten apple, a ticking timebomb that is guaranteed to detonate, a deeply disturbed and unworldly sociopath. And, what's even worse, his parents are clearly aware of their son's mental dysfunctions, but they prefer to ignore it and argue over insignificant things instead. Mark is a big fan of the Nazi party and forces the entire household to listen to loud and boisterous sounds of WWII fighter planes. He petrifies his poor little sister, kills innocent kittens and housemaids, humiliates the school's jock, and terrorizes the already mentally unstable new babysitter.
"Twisted" certainly isn't a very plausible movie, but there is nevertheless suspense and a few memorably shocking moments. Slater's character is so deplorable that you'll wish for him to die the most painful death imaginable, even though he's only supposed to be 15 or 16 years old, but also his "victims" deserve all the agony that overcomes them. The ending is disappointing, and even downright stupid, but "Twisted" still is recommend viewing for fans of curious 80s thrillers/horror.