Eating Razors
(Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2005)
review by Don't Feed the Dead

It's a difficult task to review short films, and even more difficult to review a short film made on a shoe-string budget. On one hand, you want to find the most amount of positive material to speak of in the review. But it becomes a bit trying when the feature is just over 25 minutes and comes with a budget of less than $500. Ron DeCaro's Eating Razors (A Love Story) presents the most challenging feat I have had in 2005 as a reviewer - measuring intent versus execution on a tiny timescale with an even more microscopic budget.

Trent is a shattered man. After the death of his wife, Laura, in a car accident 2 years prior, his life has fallen to shambles. He drinks... heavily and habitually. Actually, Trent drinks to a point that makes the audience nauseous. Trent's complete disregard for his present life, and reluctance to let go of the past, has gotten him fired from his job and abandoned by his new girlfriend. What's left for a hollow man with nothing to live for? A cheap bottle of vodka and a night of delusions.

Gathering together all the spare change he can find around his house, Trent calls upon his stoner friend to drive him to the liquor store to get some liquid salvation. On the way out of the store, Trent runs into a shady character that bestows upon him a demo CD of a ban "Eating Razors". Not thinking anything of it, Trent returns home with his friend and cracks open the Vodka. Trent drinks..... and drinks.... and drinks some more, until he begins to hallucinate some pretty brutal shit.

DeCaro's "love story" is filled with a great deal of truisms, but ultimately the lack of budget drags this title into an obscure state. Very often the film lags and over-elaborates on areas that should be sped up. A good deal of time is wasted while Trent searches for money, as with the endless shots of Trent doing... well.... shots. Granted, the heavy drinking was a bit unsettling, but it detracted from the overall presentation of the film. I can see why DeCaro would want to add more substance to a short, but in the case of Eating Razors, a good 5 - 10 minutes could have been shaved off for a greater impact on the audience.

The disc itself offers a great amount of extras, shining a bit of light on the micro-budget filmmaking obstacles encountered during the shooting. Cast and crew interviews also show the collaborative minds behind the film itself, as well as Ron without the god-awful wig he wore during the film. Also included on the disc are 2 DeCaro short films and outtakes from the production of Eating Razors.

When it comes down to final grades, Eating Razors does a decent job of entertaining and holds its own against other independent shorts. DeCaro offers a somewhat realistic look into the mind of a traumatized alcoholic and drives home the point of love loss rather well. Maybe we can look for DeCaro and company showing up on a future Fango Blood Drive......

Check it out for yourself HERE