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The Acid King
USA 2019
produced by Nicole Cliffe (executive), Mark Gray (executive), Chandler Thistle (executive), Anthony Zenkus (executive) for 1289 Films
directed by Jesse P. Pollack, Dan Jones
starring Terry Barton, Barefoot Billy, Corey Bing, Bahb Branca, David Breskin, Brendan B. Brown, Connor Clark, Lili Collins, Alex Fielding, J.P. Groeninger, Dan Harrington, Leslie K Hatton, Brian Kaufman, Grant Koerner, Lily Kosef, Chris Limbach, Nick Mamatas, Eric Naiburg, Tom Raetz, Lori S., Ron Schmitt, Jackson Stover, Chandler Thistle, Chris Tsakis, Tommy Turner, Jim Van Bebber, Doug Varley, Marlene Yolango, Anthony Zenkus
written by Jesse P. Pollack, Dan Jones, music by Alms House, Menephra
documentary
review by Mike Haberfelner
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It was a murder that shocked the nation back in 1984, when in the
sleepy Long Island village Northport, NY, 17 year old Ricky Kasso murdered
Gary Sauwer in what was soon reported to be a Satanic ritual with Kasso
being the leader of a Satanist cult, and since it happened at the height
of the nationwide Satanic panic, that among other things demonized
heavy metal music, and Kasso wore an AC/DC t-shirt at the time of
his arrest, this story fit the overall narrative only too perfectly ...
only, the story the media then reported twists the truth quite a bit:
Ricky Kasso was far from the leader of a cult of Satanist, just a kid who
has been thrown out of his home by his father at age 13 and since made a
living selling drugs - and using of course. And while it's true that he
had an interest in the occult, this can be said of many teens and had no
relation to the murder. Kasso even had a chance to get back to live with
his parents, and they sent him to drug rehabilitation, but it seems he was
too far gone already, and was kicked out of his parental home again for
long. Gary Sauwer was a friend of Kasso, also into drug pushing and using,
but not as deep into it. However, at one point he stole from Kasso,
something Kasso couldn't tolerate, so he and two acquaintances got
together with Sauwer to get high - but with everybody under heavy
influence of mind-altering substances, the situation escalated, and Kasso
brutally stabbed Sauwer again and again. So addled was his brain that he
later bragged about the murder and took people to see Sauwer's dead body,
to bury him only after 14 days, upon which he and a friend decided to skip
town - but they failed to make good their getaway and got arrested. Kasso
never stood trial though, he hanged himself in his cell only a couple of
days after his arrest ... Now as sensationalist as early
reports about the murder in questions were, this film does a great job
ripping away all hyperboles and turning what's left into a very
fascinating story in itself. And what makes this approach quite so well is
that it features many interviews with persons more or less directly
involved with the story itself, from Kasso and Lauwer's acquaintances to a
journalist researching the true story to a lawyer who has worked on the
case, and with almost forensic care pieces together something as close to
the truth as one can get. But what makes the film is that despite it
consists mostly of talking heads, it keeps the narrative tension high
throughout and keeps the audience at the edge of their seats with a truly
well-conceived true story.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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Robots and rats,
demons and potholes, cuddly toys and shopping mall Santas,
love and death and everything in between,
Tales to Chill Your Bones to is all of that.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to -
a collection of short stories and mini-plays ranging from the horrific to the darkly humourous,
from the post-apocalyptic to the weirdly romantic,
tales that will give you a chill and maybe a chuckle,
all thought up by the twisted mind of screenwriter and film reviewer Michael Haberfelner.
Tales to Chill Your Bones to
the new anthology by Michael Haberfelner
Out now from Amazon!!! |
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