Something strange happens to some people: first they have headaches, then they go bald and start killing others. This is exactly what happens to Jerry Zipkin’s friend at a country party, but by coincidence, Jerry himself is accused of the murders. Now, in order to remove suspicion from himself, the guy has to go on the run and get to the bottom of the truth himself.
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Not too famous director Jeff Lieberman left behind a few films, but each of them seems to me quite curious and worth the attention of fans of the horror genre. Like many other, much more eminent creators of this direction, in his paintings he explored various forms of Evil, trying not to repeat himself and to comply with certain quality standards of his works. Sandy King, who edited the script, worked with him on the tape under consideration today – and this name says something to all connoisseurs of John Carpenter’s work.
Do you know a lot of detective thrillers based on … the problem of hair loss? Here, however, it is also associated with such insignificant side effects as absolute insanity, completely overtaking a person, and an extreme degree of aggressiveness. By all the laws of the genre, not the police, but the ordinary guy Jerry, who is in mortal danger, will become the main driving force of the investigation.
This ‘forced hero’ was portrayed by the future famous erotomaniac Zalman King, who then still preferred acting to directing. He plays extremely nervously, fully exploiting his extravagant appearance with a wild and strange piercing gaze, which gives the viewer an additional reason for suspicion – is Jerry himself involved in what is happening? .. In the small role of one of his friends at the party, the magnificent Brion James appeared , the acclaimed ‘king of the episode’ and eternal supporting character.
Like all films of this director, ‘Blue Joy’ is staged quite well, and you can feel it already when watching the interestingly made opening credits to bewitchingly meditative music. That seems to be nothing special, but the moments of attacks by terrible bald people with insane glazed eyes evoke a depressing feeling. The whole scene with the woman-nanny armed with a knife, which still looks very atmospheric, was especially successful.
Skeptics can easily find the disadvantages of this tape. To some, it will seem boring, drawn-out, not dynamic enough for an ‘urban thriller’, etc. Perhaps there is some truth in this; in my opinion, the plot here is quite original and the story itself is told in an interesting way, besides, the general tendencies and mood of the 70s are perfectly conveyed, allowing you to feel the era in full. In fact, the picture in the year of its release could even be shown in the USSR under the heading ‘their morals’ – look, they say, what kind of people in the States go into politics, becoming the rulers of thoughts and destinies. All of this remained extremely relevant to American society after the recent Watergate … So the film is not at all as simple as it might seem at first. If you are partial to this genre, it is definitely worth spending your time on it.
Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (76.2 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: HDR10
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
English: DTS 2.0
English: LPCM 2.0
German: LPCM 2.0
Subtitles
English, German.
