Lucifer Valentine always seemed like he had a direction. The thought he put into the Vomit Doll trilogy showed a spark of something deeper than vomit-porn. I chalked up the gratuitous images, camera work and sound design to youth. That's how you grow - by pushing the boundaries. I'm...well, "pleased" isn't the right word...but I'm pleased to see that he made it through to Heavy Metal Vein.
The Heavy Metal put totals about 2% of the film and that consists completely of playing in someone's basement. I'm guessing that was the in to this group of junkies. "Let me make a movie about your band. Here's my other stuff." The content of the Vomit Doll trilogy would have been enough for instant access. The Satan angle (Valentine is a Satanist) clinched the deal.
IMO, a documentary should show you a world you'll never see. And, unless you're a junkie, you'll never see this. Nor should you want to. There's not enough hyperbole in the world to warn you away from this movie. There's no redemption here. There's no compassion. There's no judgement or morality. Only a Satanist could or would keep the camera rolling after someone ODs. Valentine's reaction directly mirrors that of the people watching - a big shrug. As one of the people says without a trace of irony, "I don't have any friends. Why would I want to watch them kill themselves? Why would I want that drama?" So when one of their not-friends dies, it's no big deal since they just OD'd first.
Valentine does his best to stay away from the drama. Perhaps a little too much. Raven's boyfriend, a straight-laced sailor, doesn't do drugs, hates her doing drugs, doesn't like that she spends all of his money on drugs but that's as far as we get with him. There's no explanation of why, especially when she goes scabby and abscess-y, he still won't move on and (even weirder) has sex with her That's an important question since the boyfriend is handsome. (There's a small insight when Raven says, "yep, I'm the man in the relationship.)
This is the documentary version of Drugstore Cowboy. Valentine puts a disclaimer at the start of the movie informing us that he is not trying to glorify drug use. That's an understatement. If you want to become a junkie by the end of this movie...you need help.
The end credits happen over video of the dead Raven intercut with her as a little girl. It's about as sentimental as the film gets. But it also means that, after she OD'd he just kept filming. You can debate the morality of this all you want. What you can't debate is the courage it took to know that, even if he'd intervened, she'd have most likely died anyway. So, within the paradigm of the group - keep filming because who cares.
THAT is the way to make a documentary.
The Heavy Metal put totals about 2% of the film and that consists completely of playing in someone's basement. I'm guessing that was the in to this group of junkies. "Let me make a movie about your band. Here's my other stuff." The content of the Vomit Doll trilogy would have been enough for instant access. The Satan angle (Valentine is a Satanist) clinched the deal.
IMO, a documentary should show you a world you'll never see. And, unless you're a junkie, you'll never see this. Nor should you want to. There's not enough hyperbole in the world to warn you away from this movie. There's no redemption here. There's no compassion. There's no judgement or morality. Only a Satanist could or would keep the camera rolling after someone ODs. Valentine's reaction directly mirrors that of the people watching - a big shrug. As one of the people says without a trace of irony, "I don't have any friends. Why would I want to watch them kill themselves? Why would I want that drama?" So when one of their not-friends dies, it's no big deal since they just OD'd first.
Valentine does his best to stay away from the drama. Perhaps a little too much. Raven's boyfriend, a straight-laced sailor, doesn't do drugs, hates her doing drugs, doesn't like that she spends all of his money on drugs but that's as far as we get with him. There's no explanation of why, especially when she goes scabby and abscess-y, he still won't move on and (even weirder) has sex with her That's an important question since the boyfriend is handsome. (There's a small insight when Raven says, "yep, I'm the man in the relationship.)
This is the documentary version of Drugstore Cowboy. Valentine puts a disclaimer at the start of the movie informing us that he is not trying to glorify drug use. That's an understatement. If you want to become a junkie by the end of this movie...you need help.
The end credits happen over video of the dead Raven intercut with her as a little girl. It's about as sentimental as the film gets. But it also means that, after she OD'd he just kept filming. You can debate the morality of this all you want. What you can't debate is the courage it took to know that, even if he'd intervened, she'd have most likely died anyway. So, within the paradigm of the group - keep filming because who cares.
THAT is the way to make a documentary.
