In purgatory a rag-tag group of time displaced freedom fighters wage an eternal battle against the preternatural Shadowmen and their leader, the alien monster, Despiser (voiced by the film’s writer/director Philip J. Cook).
Meanwhile artist Gordon Hauge (Mark Redfield) is having a mega-shitty day; he’s been fired and his wife, Maggie (Gage Sheridan), has split the scene. He soon finds himself barreling down the highway where some kids are crossing the road… unsupervised… at night… and our hero flies off the road to avoid them and careens straight into Purgatory.
Once there he is immediately besieged by Ragmen… violent psychos dressed in tatters… before being rescued by Bible-verse quoting, hard shootin’ Nimbus (Doug Brown) and his wing-man, World War II fighter pilot Fumie Tomasawa (Frank Smith).
Soon they are joined by the other members of Purgatory’s freedom fighters; the cowboy, Jake (Michael Weitz), and rough n’ tumble British lady, Charlie Roadtrap (Tara Bilkins)… but just as suddenly Gordon is brought back to our world as he is resuscitated at the scene of the accident as he is in the midst of battling monsters in Purgatory.
Once home Gordon is besieged by denizens of Purgatory (including possessed Troll toys of all things)… denizens who soon kidnap Maggie, which forces him to commit suicide to re-enter Purgatory in order to combat Despiser and his terror troops once more!
Cook’s Despiser is one surreal experience, which is only accented by the way it was realized on screen.
Shot on sound stages with copious amounts of green screen and Playstation 1 era CGI, Despiser comes across like an FMV video game from the mid-’90s mixed with Canadian regional Sci-Fi television from the ‘80s such as U.F.O. Kidnapped and Read All About It (that was ‘79, but close enough)… it’s a fever-dream aesthetic that manages to work in the flicks favor rather than against it, no matter how crude the CG (which is utilized for everything from environments, to cars, to blood, to monsters) looks today.
Part of what sells the above phantasmagorical spectacle so well are the actors assembled here with Redfield making for a likable, engaging hero and Brown rockin’ the Pulp Fiction-era Samuel L. Jackson schtick while displaying a ton of heart as Resistance leader Nimbus… to mention just a few.
The film also has a sense of humor that can delve into the corny at times, but it gives the whole affair an old school comic book feel that adds to the fun at hand… and “fun” is the operative word here as it’s vastly entertaining to see what Cook achieves with his creative ingenuity and use of budget at hand.
You’ll be able to learn just how he did it too, as Visual Vengeance have included an audio commentary with Cook (joined by Redfield and Sheridan) in which he details the production of the film.
Also included are a second audio commentary (provided by Sam Panico of B&S About Movies and Bill Van Ryn of Drive-In Asylum that examines the film from a fan’s perspective), an interview with Cook and actor Mark Hyde, an archival “making of” piece, deleted scenes, blooper and outtake reels, a storyboard coimparisson, the film’s original DVD menu, behind-the-scenes and promo & art galleries, producer and Visual Vengeance trailers for the film, and trailers for two more Cook films (Outerworld and Invader respectively).
Also included in the package are a VHS rental store inspired sticker sheet, a folded mini-poster, a two- sided insert, a reversible sleeve, and a cardboard slip-cover.
Despiser is inventive, ambitious, and often delightfully bizarre… but more importantly, it’s a ton of freaky fun behold!