Saturday, October 11, 2008

October 11 - Dr Chopper [2005]


Dr Chopper (2005)
Director: Lewis Shoenbrun
Starring: Costas Mandylor, Ed Brigadier, Robert Adamson

How often have I been fooled by an appealing DVD cover?

I always do some research before watching a movie, so I knew to expect a B-grade, straight-to-video cheapie going into Dr Chopper. Cheaply made movies can be fun, and they can be good. But only if they have a goodish plot, a sprinkling of T&A, an interesting killer/monster and some half decent kills/gore. The acting doesn't have to be Oscar-worthy, but should at least be above porn level.

Dr Chopper has an interesting-enough killer (Dr Chopper), an 87-year-old former plastic surgeon who kills young people and uses their bodyparts to keep himself alive. The plot isn't terrible - in fact, it has quite a nice twist towards the end. There's also enough T&A to keep things interesting.

My biggest complaint is the kills are pretty weak, and the dialogue is cringeworthy (I actually laughed out loud a few times at how bad it was, like when the male lead lovingly tells his girlfriend "you turn my tears to wine". She could make a fortune!). The acting is about what you'd expect for a no-budget movie like this - ranging from porn-level bad to above-average, the latter coming from Costas Mandylor (Saw III, IV and V), who is the only actual Hollywood actor involved in Dr Chopper.

Is it a good movie? Uh, no. Is it watchable? Well, that depends on your standards I guess. Dr Chopper would probably be best viewed by a group of friends having some drinks and looking for some laughs.

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