“DEAD BODY MAN 2”

Starring: Eddie Benevich, Pamela Such, Peter Blessel, Amy Liszka and Adam Berasi
Written & Directed by Ryan Cavalline
4th Floor Pictures
Sub Rosa Studios Underground

Polly Staffle Rating: ***

Take the charisma of Bam Margera, mix it with the hyperness of Chris Farley and add a touch of Freddy Kruger and you get Willie the Dead Body Man. Needless to say, he’s a lot of fun and also a tad bit annoying. In fact, never have I been so irritated by a character in the beginning of a film and then appreciated him later as much as Eddie Benevich’s Willie in the horror/comedy “Dead Body Man 2: Separation Anxiety.”

Having never seen the original “Dead Body Man” I had no idea what I was getting into. However, I was ready to throw stuff at my TV screen when Willie appeared screaming and hollering about having sex with chickens on the DVD menu. He is yelling so loud I was worried my 2 a.m. screening of the film may wake my neighbors. Willie doesn’t scream near as bad through the actual movie, but I nonetheless found myself thinking, “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” when Willie’s first scene had him doing a bad imitation of a mentally challenged person. “This is going to be one hell of a long watch,” I thought. As the film went on, something happened though. I’m not sure what it was. But some how this bestiality-loving necrophiliac porn addict won me over. By the movie’s end, I wanted to see more of this freak.

Luckily, it appears a third film could be a reality. In fact, one of the negatives of this film is how it feels like one of those in between sequel movies. Don’t worry, “Dead Body Man 2” plays fine by itself. It’s a blast. This isn’t a “geek trilogy” like “Harry Potter” or “Lord of the Rings” where if you go in having missed an entry you have no idea what is going on. It’s more like watching “Big Momma’s House 2” without seeing the first one. This just isn’t as plot oriented as Martin Lawrence’s cross dressing sequel.

Besides Willie, this Ryan Cavalline directed project has a lot of absurdness going for it that will have you unable to turn the film off. The closest thing I can compare it to is Fred Olen Ray’s “Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers” as they both contain lots of fake gore and plenty of naked women. But no movie I can think of off the top of my head has ever contained as many weird scenarios as this one. You see Willie is the “dead body man.” You commit a murder and need someone to clean up the mess, get a hold of this guy and he’ll take care of everything. Sound too good to be true? Well that’s because Willie also has a few fatal flaws. He either works for God or he’s completely insane, and he isn’t just a clean up man either. He’s sort of a recovering serial-killing addict. For now Willie has given up committing murder. The dilemma he faces, however, is God doesn’t want him to put a stop to his murderous ways just quite yet.

Right about the time Willie appears to be ready for an explosive bowel movement, God appears in the toilet. Willie is told to start killing again. Willie just ignores him. He wants a normal life. He doesn’t want to kill. Soon Santa Claus comes a knocking. Santa doesn’t get anywhere either. In fact, he angers Willie to the point that St. Knick gets his head bashed in with a hammer. Santa’s not dead however, so Willie puts thumb tacks in cookies and bleach in milk to finish him off. Though he’s just committed the act against the jolly fat bastard, Willie still doesn’t want to kill. Jesus pays a visit and watches some porn with Willie, and God interrupts the fun by speaking through a blonde porn star on the screen. Jesus retreats back to heaven with Willie still unconvinced murdering people is his mission in life.

Don’t worry, Willie’s angel act doesn’t last long and soon he is slicing up crack head hookers and killing bikini clad women as part of his daily activities. Sinners beware; the dead body man is on the prowl. I can’t decide which scene is my favorite. But it’s definitely between Willie dumping flour on the heads of the topless prostitutes before pulling out a chainsaw to bloody up the place, and the vacuum woman, cleaning Willie’s house in a two-piece bathing suit and then exposing her breasts in hopes of persuading him to make a purchase just before he pulls a “Bang! Bang! Maxwell’s silver hammer” to her skull. Other offbeat moments in the film include Willie having sex with a cow, him lugging his Scottish brother’s head in a bowling ball bag, and last but not least, Willie’s prostitute girlfriend that crushes clients heads with her breasts. There’s also a nice filler that would make Herschell Gordon Lewis proud. At one part the film is interrupted to show a retro PSA on syphilis. The seemingly legit reel from 1959 is jazzed up with informative subtitles and comic bubbles a la “Blind Date” for hilarious results.

The fifth film from Cavalline, “Dead Body Man 2: Separation Anxiety” is a pretty good watch. No this won’t be winning any Oscars, but it is definitely one of the better sequels to come out in a long time. Cavalline, who also produced, shot, edited and cameos in the film, is surely going to hell if there is such a place, but as a viewer I’ll happily join him as long as he keeps thinking up crazy stuff like this to keep me entertained.

- CCF, August 2006