The Ghastly Love of Johnny X (2013)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

A catchy film that hearkens back to the old B&W juvenile films of the 50s and 60s. The soundtrack also reminds one of the works of Bernard Herrmann, Danny Elfman (Beetlejuice) as well as The West Side Story. I had a chance to speak to Mr. Bunnell and found him to be the real deal. Considerate and passionate about the trade, he was very gracious with his time spent with me. If you ever get the chance to screen this film at a theater, by all means, do so. Run, don't walk!

A gang of thugs from another planet, led by one Jonathan Xavier, (Will Keenan), is exiled to Earth by an old man in a Devo hat called the Grand Inquisitor, played by Kevin McCarthy, (from "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers"). All he has to do to be allowed to return home is to perform one unselfish act. Along the way we meet a zombie rock star named Micky O'Flynn, (Creed Bratton from The Grass Roots), Johnny's ex girlfriend Bliss, (DeAnna Joy Brooks), talk show host Cousin Quilty, (Paul Williams, "Phantom Of The Paradise") a villain named Sluggo, and a soda jerk named Chip, (Jed Rowan & Les Williams respectively). A few snappy pop tunes by Scott Martin, some dancin', a little finger snappin', a car chase or two, and a terrific score by Ego Plum, make director Paul Bunnell's debut feature film what it is, a 106 minute joy ride. Bunnell has given the movie all of the appropriate nods to the classics like "Grease", "West Side Story", "Porgy & Bess", "The Wild One", and "Hot Rods To Hell", to name just a few. That being said, Johnny X is very much its own thing. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that I've never seen a movie quite like this before. Keenan's performance in Johnny X is notable for it's restraint. Just like Marlon Brando's Johnny in "The Wild One", Keenan's Johnny X plays it way cool. I don't think he raises his voice in the film even once. Even so, there's no mistaking that Johnny Xavier is an angry alien punk. However, there is one very emotional, dark scene, in which we get a glimpse of another side to Johnny, and with a character that turns out to be more important than you may have thought. I'll leave it at that. "The Ghastly Love Of Johnny X" has two very notable "lasts" that I'd like to mention. It is the last film you will ever see that was shot on Kodak's Plus X black and white film. For cinematographer, director Paul Bunnell chose Francisco Bulgarelli. The film looks gorgeous, with rich expressive contrast, and tonalities. This film would still be good in color, but the fact that it's done in such cool black and white, puts you in it's own universe, and locks the door behind you. Johnny X also gives us the last screen appearance of the late veteran actor Kevin McCarthy, who passed away in September 2010. His part is small, but memorable. His career spanned over five decades, in both motion pictures and television, beginning in 1944. But it was his role as Dr. Miles J. Bennell,…(hmmm… Bennell…Bunnell…ain't that weird?) in "The Invasion Of The Body Snatchers", for which he will always be remembered. "The Ghastly Love Of Johnny X" is available on DVD, through Amazon, and Barnes & Noble. The extras are fun to watch. Make sure you look for the two Easter eggs hidden in the menu. Oh, and one final note, there is a limited edition soundtrack CD available at www.kritzerland.com/johnnyX.htm.

Now THIS is a FILM!! A REAL FILM, from top to bottom, inside and out. It was made for people who love film. If you have seen the trailer for this film and are wondering if the actual movie lives up to the trailer, well that trailer doesn't even scratch the surface. Even though the trailer too is awesome, this movie itself is a million times better than you think it will even be after watching the trailer. I'm sure you have read the synopsis, so I will spare you going over the plot points here and just tell you why you should see this film. From the very first frame to the vast last, even after the ending credits have rolled, The Ghastly Love of Johnny X is a true MASTERWORK of Art and Wizardry, through and through. Such fine care and attention went into every last detail and frame of this film, that I feel blessed to be able to sit back and witness the final vision and you should too. What I respect about it most is that it has such an extraordinarily strong sense of self identity, that it does not falter from it's unique and strange personality for even a second. This film lives in its own universe. It does not care to please the masses. It only cares to be itself...to live and breathe in the universe that it is.Both Quintin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez could learn more than just a thing or two from watching this film. This film reaches a point of greatness that those two have been TRYING to reach their whole careers but nearly always seem to just fall short of; here comes Paul Bunnell seemingly out of nowhere to show them how it's really done. The Johnny X film does not attempt greatness, it IS greatness! Everything from the directing, cinematography, slick camera work, lighting, editing, set designs, musical numbers, and the writing are all exceptionally on point. The whimsically rhythmical pacing of scenes and shots plus the purposeful overly theatrical acting also make this extremely fun to watch. Then there is the dialog... there is no shortage when it comes to ingeniously witty comedic dialog that will have you literally laughing out loud throughout the length of the film. The unbelievably brilliant wit and perfect comedic timing of the dialog makes this film absolutely HILARIOUS and worthy of multiple viewings! I've seen this movie twice now, and it's even better the 2nd time around. If this particular B&W Kodak Film Stock had to go out, then I'm glad it went down in a blaze of Johnny X glory. It's better than Sin City in every single way. Not since Road Racers has Rodriguez even come close to touching Johnny X.If you were able to take and combine Robert Rodriguez and Quintin Tarantino, bring them back to their glory days and make them way better at what they do and took away the extreme violence and mean spirited nature of their films and replaced it with superior quick wit and musical numbers, you would still only be looking at mere surface of The Ghastly Love of Johnny X. It's time put on your specks and watch this film for yourself and see what I'm talking about!! This movie is better than any hype I could give it. It is destined to become a cult classic.The Ghastly Love of Johnny X is a film that is more than deserving of the Criterion treatment. Not only does this film stand up tall along side the best movies ever made, it is also historically significant being the last feature to ever be shot on the B&W Kodak Plus-X film. I wouldn't be at all surprised if at some point soon we see a Johnny X blu-ray as part of The Criterion Collection.

Here's a great one that may have slid by your cinematic radar. This film is just the kind of cinematic lunacy that really strikes a chord with me, and I bet if you are in the mood for a slice of something off-kilter topped off with tons of b-movie reverence it will with you too! Picture if you will a film that is equal parts Broadway show and Ed Wood film and you are getting close to just what this film has in store for you! Intergalactic juvenile delinquent Johnny X (Will Keenan) is banished to earth with his gang of hoodlums, where his prized possession, The Resurrection Suit (a wardrobe that allows the wearer to control the bodies of others) is nixed by his girlfriend Bliss (De Anna Joy Brooks), and what follows is a madcap chase punctuated by zombie rock stars, UFOs, appearances by genre legends such as Reggie Bannister (Phantasm), Kevin McCarthy (Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and musical genius Paul Williams (Phantom of the Paradise) and a ton of catchy tunes! Check this one out today folks, it could easily be the next Rocky Horror!