[Rapturious]
Plot:An up and coming rapper named Rapturious begins having nightmarish hallucinations when his dealer gives him a new drug. But are the hallucinations real, or just tricks of the mind? While his manager becomes increasingly concerned about her client's unpredictable behavior, Rapturious begins seeing demons which lead him to the revelation that an evil entity is hell-bent on claiming the musician’s soul.
Cast:
Kamal Ahmed,
Sal Argano,
Tamsin Atkinson,
Glen Baisley,
Denny Bess,
John Bloom,
Frduah Boateng,
Al Burgo,
Alex Corrado,
Ben Curtis,
Thomas Daniel,
Ian Dorian,
Lori Eastside,
Emily Fitzgerald,
Jim Fletcher,
Jamie Greco,
Alex Greene,
Hoya Guerra,
Jason Hedges,
Mike Hurt,
Amin Joseph,
Megan Kain,
Henry Kwan,
Cinqué Lee,
Leonard Lethridge,
Sam Lisenco,
Tony Mangia,
Dirk Martin,
Ken Mayo,
Robert Oppel,
Gary J. Palermo,
Leandro Polanco,
Debbie Rochon,
Brian Rogalski,
Stuart Rudin,
Ron Ryan,
Luigi Scorcia,
Mark D. Severini,
Scott Sherratt,
William Smith,
Elisabeth Stephan,
Joe Suba,
Alex Tufel,
Kevin Van Hentenryck.
My Thoughts:Intriguing indie horror pic.
Review:Rapturious" is one of the few indie horror films to tackle something new and original and succeed, for the most part. The film intro's with a sadistic killer who is put to death in the old west days, and then fast fowards to current times, where a white rapper, the title character "Rapturious", (Robert Oppel), is trying to make it big in the music biz. He's backed in his quest by his agent Sid (Debbie Rochon), and a few friends, and gets his "fixes" from a Puerto Rican drug dealer named Louie Savage. With new deals and a movie career beginning to blossom, it seems Rapturious is on his way. But soon after taking a new drug his "hookup" gives him, he begins to have terrifying nightmares of demons, death, and hell itself...nightmares which seem to be leading him somewhere.
The question is where, and is there anything he can do to prevent his seemingly ill-fated trip? "Rapturious", which was written and directed by Kamal Ahmed is a very smart, urban horror film, which goes in the opposite direction of other more disappointing urban horror fare such as "Bones", "Tales From The Hood" - to a lesser extent, and the perfect example of bad "urban horror"...."Snoop Dogg's:Hood Of Horror". This film has alot of underlying messages and tackles a variety of different subjects that most people, aspiring musician or not would be able to relate to. Things such as temptation, the ill-effects of drugs, and the mistakes of allowing others to control your life. The movie tackles all of these issues without being preachy, but instead being informative.
It also doesn't hurt that it's greatly written, very real with it's dialogue, and actors, and the title character is played very well by Oppel. The film also eases it's way into the horror element, making the transition from urban drama, to urban horror/thrilelr very interesting and intriguing to watch. This is all solidified by Oppel's performance which is very gritty, realistic, and the guy can rap pretty well also. Even though he's just speaking his lines, I found one of the films earlier moments where Rapturious loses it on a cable-access show, and begins rapping about his life issues to be very interesting to watch, rather than embarassing and annoying which is how most white-guy-raps scenes in film turn out these days.
Debbie Rochon also does well in her role as his agent Sid. I am not entirely sure if Rochon's character was supposed to be Italian or not, but she does a very good knock off of a Brooklyn girl accent in the movie. Hoya Guerra as the charasmatic drug dealer Louie Savage does an excellent job in his role as well. Guerra really makes the most out of every scene he appears in, and does an excellent job of playing a "jolly bad guy" of sorts. The film also has some very eerie moments, most of which come when Rapturious trips out on the new drug his dealer gives him, and has numerous encounters with a demon who apparently knows him from a past life.
Ahmed really does an excellent job at not giving away his films end resolution to soon as well. You're never really quite sure whrther Rapturious is hallucinating, or simply gravitating back to where he should be. Although you might have a slight idea of what might happen, you're never really quite sure. The film's ending is not a big shock but it is very clever, and leaves you with many different theories of why what happens to Rapturious, happens. "Rapturious" is the type of movie that doesn't come along too often. It works on every level storywise, and has strong performances all around. It also is not afraid to show how smart it is, at the same time making sure not to get ahead of itself. It's definitely a must see.
Positives:Great performances by Oppel and Rochon, as well as the supporting cast. Strong story, and a very realistic tone to the film overall.
Negatives:Nothing major.
Overall:An indie gem.
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