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Lowlife

There’s always a film over the weekend that is quite unlike anything else you’ve seen at past FrightFests and for me, Ryan Prows’ cool, clever and slightly crazy feature was it.

 

It’s unique style of storytelling features three protagonists: El Monstruo – a Mexican wrestler working for a hard crime boss, Crystal, a recovering drug addict who finds herself in such a desperate situation that she has to organise a black market kidney transplant in order to save her husband’s life and last but not least, Randy, an ex-convict fresh out of prison with a large swastika tattoo plastered on his face who becomes forced into a kidnapping by his best friend.

 

Right there you have the makings of a very interesting story and it only gets better from there. The three subplots all interlink seamlessly without overcrowding the action at hand. The film is full of quirky characters, namely El Monstruo, played with great sincerity and charm by the fantastic Ricardo Adam Zarate. He is different to most anti-heroes you will have scene, bursting into a shaking rage every time someone crosses him and finding himself waking up in strange places. Zarate plays him with such charisma and enthusiasm it’s hard to take your eyes off of him and he steals every scene he’s in. This is then balanced perfectly with the much softer, nuanced performance from Nicki Micheaux who plays Crystal. She has her faults like the rest of them but we can’t help but empathise with her and Micheaux gives plays it withdrawn, understated and with such sincerity that it contrasts nicely with the much darker characters. She is clearly a talent to watch.

 

Then there’s Jon Oswald who plays the comical Randy; just out of prison and thrown into a chaotic situation without time to breathe. Oswald is charming and endearing and despite the unlikable mark on his face, Randy actually becomes quite loveable by the end.

 

The film is full of clever turns and every time you think you know where it’s going it swtiches in a completely different direction. The music score is immense, bold and powerful as it moves the story forward. This has stayed with me since watching it and I think it will be one you get something new from each time you view it.

Director: Ryan Prows

Released:  28th August 2017

Running Time: 96 minutes

Age Rating: 18

 

Reviewer: Sarah Cook

RATING


Plot: 4
Fear: 4
Gore: 3


R4/5​

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