That Little Monster
 (1994)
review by Head Cheeze

When I watched the interview with Paul Bunnel included in Elite Entertainment's DVD release of his film That Little Monster, I couldn't help but think "Here is a man out of time." His clothes scream 1950, his humour seems straight out of the Laugh-In era, and he seems to have a taste in all things vintage. It's this obvious fondness for all things retro that makes That Little Monster such an intriguing film, for as much as it emulates the classic horror films of the 1930's and the "golly-gee-whiz" innocence of the 1950's, it's the product of a visionary surrealist whose ascerbic wit is firmly planted in the now.

Shot in black and white over the course of three and a half years, That Little Monster tells the tale of Jamie (Baum), a fledgling nanny who takes on the responsibilty of caring for an wealthy eccentric couple's child. Jamie is warned by Twelvetress (Bannister) the butler/stand-up comedian in waiting of baby Wolper's less than model behavior, but this doesn't sway the young student from accepting the job. On her first night alone with Wolper, Jamie discovers just what it was that Twelvetress meant when he described the child as a "little monster".

The storyline, alone, is not enough to power a full length, and Bunnel freely admits this, as it was intended to be an episode of the short-lived anthology series Monsters. When the show was no longer a viable option, Bunnel and his producer, Carl Mastromarino, went ahead with the project as a feature, and after three years the film finally surfaced. The result? One of the creepiest, kookiest, way-out visual buffets in cinema history. Jamie is like Alice through the looking glass, but instead of waking up in Wonderland, she's woken up in Rod Serling's nightmares as visualized by David Lynch and filmed on Dad's Kodak Brownie. It's a witty and whimsical little tale that will stimulate the eyes more than the mind, but that's not always a bad thing.

Elite delivers a very well stocked disc, complete with a hilarious interview with Bunnel, commentary with Bunnel and Mastromarino, as well as Bunnel's equally bizarre 19 minute follow-up film, The Visitant. The main film looks fantastic, but is presented full-frame, and I gather this is the director's intention (especially since he was originally shooting for television). The sound mix is par excellence, but one will notice sync issues with the dubbing that are not technical issues, but rather low-budget dubbing kinda stuff. It's not distracting, really, especially when you are fully immersed in Bunnel's mad little world, I just mention it because I've watched movies where the sync issues WERE technical.

Part classic horror, part industrial art house film, and a wierdness that is all Paul Bunnel, That Little Monster is an absolute must see for folks who want to see something different. VERY different.