Combat Shock
1986, US, Directed by Buddy Giovinazzo
Colour, Running Time: 91 minutes
DVD, Region 1, Troma, Video: 1.33:1, Audio: Mono
Troma have been known for many ridiculous films along their career in film production and pick-ups (Tromeo & Juliet, Nymphoid Barbarian in Dinosaur Hell, Surf Nazis Must Die, etc., etc. - do you need to see those films to understand my point?) but Giovinazzo’s debut (originally titled American Nightmare) stands out for a couple of reasons, firstly because it’s quite a serious entry but most notably because it’s impact is like a rather nasty bullet to the head. Following an overly long introduction where we learn that Frankie Dunlan did his time in the Vietnam conflict, coming out of it much worse for wear, the story essentially tracks his subsequent days trying to gather the pieces of his shattered life back together. He spends most of his time roaming around the drug-laced streets jobless and hopeless, going back to a home where his recently born son is deformed and perpetually ill while his wife complains about the deteriorating situation. Considering how low his life has become, Frankie is a reasonable person and is determined to stay on the good path despite all odds being against him, but his addict friend points out there’s only one way to survive and that’s through crime, plus his dying father won‘t or can‘t financially assist him. Meanwhile, also roaming the streets are some small time moneylenders from whom Frankie has borrowed in the past - a couple of scrapes with them and Frankie is left badly beaten. When he realises that there’s a gun in the bag of a woman who he mugged earlier (who in turn stole it from Frankie’s friend, who had himself thieved it) he decides to use it and from there on his fate is set to substantially change.
There is no light in this film; it starts off in jungles of Vietnam and moves to the urban jungle which Frankie finds to be his new prison. His life is a turmoil of negativity and social disintegration, a pit from which he can see no hope. Surrounding him are the many dysfunctional characters that are themselves embroiled in the nightmare that humanity is unfortunately capable of creating for itself - it seems unbelievable that a species that supposedly has voluntary control over its destiny will sometimes construct an undesirable world around itself but it happens. These characters are sometimes barely aware, almost oblivious to their enveloping cesspit, while sometimes they can recognise the problem but are impotent in response to it - his incessantly nagging wife being one person who fits into the latter category. The unseen birth of Frankie’s child has not aided him in his soul-destroying existence: it persistently wails in an inhuman fashion, can barely ingest food (not that there’s much of it to try - the cupboards are empty), is physically abhorrent and clearly in constant distress. The thing reminds you of the baby in Lynch’s Eraserhead and, apart from the odd special effect that permits it life, is quite a distressing entity. People in Frankie’s town queue up at the job centre and arrive to very little choice, while just down the road a pimp is presenting children for prostitution. Characters are appropriately represented onscreen by non-professionals, though I do often warm to this style of natural acting as it makes a change from Hollywood‘s egotistical and overblown attempts at verisimilitude. Giovinazzo’s world is horrific and the movie’s conclusion will never be forgotten. If you want to put any pitiful problems into perspective, watch Combat Shock.
On the disc are a couple of extras that are quite cool to own - a commentary track from the director (German gore master Jorg Buttgereit also making an aural appearance), plus some interview footage with Giovinazzo and Troma mainman Lloyd Kaufman. There are a few bonuses unrelated to the feature, such as trailers for other Troma movies that’ll give you an idea of whether the studio’s output is for you or not. Some of this stuff can be quite fun to rummage through if you go off wandering with your remote handy and a spare hour: the quiz is great fun - answer wrong and you get a scene of gore or violence from one of the company’s films, guess right and you’re shown a scene of female nudity; either way it‘s a laugh. I also found a ten minute interview with Dario Argento about Stendhal Syndrome - talk about random! Anyway, after years of being vaguely available in a version heavily cut by the MPAA, Troma finally released this Combat Shock DVD with all of its previously excised footage as a ‘director’s cut’ and given the fact that the transfer (taken from its 16mm origins) is the best one can imagine it to be, this must be considered the definitive release. As an anti-war comment or an insight into the depths to which humans are able to stoop as well as poverty in the modern era, Combat Shock makes its points in abundance - just don’t expect to come out smiling.