Zzyzx, the road, may lead to nowhere, but three people find themselves baking in a desert of murder, mystery, manipulation and greed when the legendary road becomes the place where their des... Read allZzyzx, the road, may lead to nowhere, but three people find themselves baking in a desert of murder, mystery, manipulation and greed when the legendary road becomes the place where their destinies collide.Zzyzx, the road, may lead to nowhere, but three people find themselves baking in a desert of murder, mystery, manipulation and greed when the legendary road becomes the place where their destinies collide.
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Did you know
- TriviaThe film was originally titled "Zyzzyx" and was released in the same month and year as a film titled "Zyzzyx Road".
- Quotes
[first title card]
Title Card: In 1965, the FBI seized and destroyed the Zzyzx complex for "unspeakable atrocities" by cult leaders Carl and Sophia Ziller.
- ConnectionsReferences A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Well, it's better than I expected and exactly what I expected. It streamed neither with a bang nor a whimper, but with a shrug.
Zzyzx -- and the production-confused Zyzzyx Road -- are essentially the same desert-based neo-noir sparsely populated by humans enchanted or possessed by the arid landscapes fracturing their psyche, inspiring them to indulge their darkest desires based in revenge and deceit. The former is the more graphic, The Hills Have Eyes-inspired of the duo (right down to the motor home). Both have small casts of three main characters: two men (one macho, one wimpy) and one femme fatale. And someone -- in the middle of the desert where there's no traffic or pedestrians -- still manages to get hit by a car. And both center on sad sacks hittin' it big in Vegas -- and scoring an ulterior-motives babe, natch.
As its non-linear tale unspools, Kenny Johnson's Lou is a macho, already-tweaked Gulf War veteran (the war flashbacks are toy-store inaccurate-cheap) in a The Grapes of Wrath-styled relationship with his "Lennie Small": Ryan, a wimpy computer store clerk enamored with the "Blair Witch" web-based mysteries surrounding Zzyzx: a deserted town on the southwestern edge of the Mojave Desert. A Mansonesque cult leader (who we never meet) resides out there, Spahn Ranch-style, broadcasting static-filled sermons from a remote radio station (who we never hear, except for garbled static) -- which leads us to believe a possible "supernatural comeuppance" awaits. (Daniel Myrick low-budget blockbuster reminds; he, and this film's director, Richard Halpern, have worked together on four films.)
Traveling down Zzyzx Road, Lou and Ryan bicker behind the wheel; they hit Manny: a heavy-set Native American man stumbling in a drunken stupor along the roadside; Candice, our femme fatale appears: she's looking for her newlywed husband who went to get help, as their RV is stuck in the sand. And Lou hatches a plan -- and harangues Ryan -- to cover up Manny's death.
Is our Candice (Lou classifies her as "hot") just another desert siren leading men to their doom? Is she just another cold, greedy noir-woman -- with a couple of ice-cold six packs and psychedelic mushrooms in the fridge and a coke-filled Altoids tin?
The film opens with a creative, opening title cards sequence: as Lou and Ryan travel out of Los Angeles toward the Mojave, credits appear on road signs and billboards amid their dialog; Richard Halpern's directing credit appears on a truck's bumper sticker: "How's My Directing? Call ###-###-####." Very cool.
While many critiqued the cinematography as "amateur," "shot on a phone," and "too Blair Witchy," the soft-focus cinematography's "gritty, rough and hazy images" are an artistic choice -- not technical ignorance -- that work hand-in-hand with the hot, dusty environs; the handheld shakiness of the camera lends to the film's disjointed, surreal vibe. Art D'Alessandro's scripting -- in conjunction with director Richard Halpern's editing -- develops an interesting visual style in structuring the film's drug-fueled flashbacks (by all three characters) as a rewinding VHS tape -- complete with washouts, squeals and scratches. How was this shot: film or video? Did cinematographer Jean Senelier break out an old Bell & Howell 16mm camera to achieve the documentary-style of the film, à la 1972's The Last House on the Left?
Zzyzx is certainly not the "Best Indie Film Seen in a Decade," but it's certainly not the worst indie film seen in a decade. I give this 5-stars, a half-star less than the other film about the road in the Mojave.
You can visit my expanded, full review at B&S About Movies -- which also delves into Zyzzyx Road. You can find me under "critic reviews" for both films.
- rdfranciscritic
- Jul 23, 2023
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- Estrada Sem Volta
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- Budget
- $1,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 21 minutes
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