The Plot:
Leonard has been killing people for 12 years. He kidnaps individuals, drags them to his deserted farmhouse, and tortures them before ending their life. He also asks them to do one last thing before they die. They must write in a section of his photo album, a tainted tome containing every victim he has ever slaughtered (and their sad, sickening story). Leonard claims that his latest catch, a plain girl named Clara, will be his last. When she writes her tale in his journal, Leonard's journey will be "over". Thus it's a harsh, monstrous battle of wits - and wills - between this innocent girl and a truly twisted madman. Who will win, and what will become of the Scrapbook of these deeds, rests completely in the resolve of a deranged psychopath, and the damaged victim under his vile control.

The DVD:
It is not hard to see why writer/director Eric Stanze is so well regarded among independent movie buffs. He makes obdurate films that don't allow minor issues like budget or production value to get in the way of their effectiveness. Wanting to push the envelope as much as sink inside the genres he's utilizing, the results are frequently uncompromising, unusual, and more than a little unsettling. Scrapbook is a perfect example of his unique outsider approach to cinema. Underneath it's seedy, sleazy exterior, it is a very accomplished, very disquieting little film. Sure, we've seen the mass murderer storyline done in a completely non-romanticized format before (John McNaughton's Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer for one) but no moviemaker, mainstream or otherwise, has dared to depict the foul repugnance, the overwhelming awfulness that's inherent in this kind of narrative. By narrowing his focus - almost too much - and keeping us connected to the players within his demented diorama, Scrapbook becomes a pure exercise in extremes - emotional, psychological and physical.

At the heart of this nasty novelty are two very brave, quite excellent actors. Essaying what appears to be the easier role is the late Tommy Biondo. As the evil lunatic with a head-load of fudged up ideas, Biondo's Leonard is not the most frightening of villains. Indeed, many of his more repulsive acts appear lost in a "making it up as he goes along" mentality (only Lenny can tell you what makes the "milk in a garbage can" torture so significant). Instead, Biondo's is more of a bewildering presence, his rampant unpredictability keeping us wondering...and worried. Indeed, the true suspense at the heart of Scrapbook comes from imagining the perverted possibilities Leonard has up his blood-splattered sleeves. The far more effective acting comes at the exploited expense of actress Emily Haack. Naked to partially-clothed throughout most of the movie, this solid, sturdy female is forced into situations so horrid, so completely devoid of humanity or morality that they almost become meaningless. The first 45 minutes of this movie is really nothing more than Leonard beating, raping, defiling, abusing and confusing Clara. While the whole "scrapbook" conceit is a nice touch, fueling some of the storyline, there is still a great deal of gratuitous violence (all of it toward women) in this film.

And this is the first place where Stanze's movie stumbles. By making the opening act so confrontational with its "I dare you to look" logistics, the film almost forces us to disconnect from what's happening onscreen. Not that we would ever become desensitized to most of the action here (rape is never, ever, EVER a pleasant cinematic experience, period), but there is an arm's length ideal inspired by the abject atrocities we see happening to Clara. Since we know next to nothing about Leonard's standard M.O. - much of it is implied, but never directly spelled out - we wonder about the purpose behind all the pummelings. Besides, this is a mostly gore-less gross-out, a movie that disgusts you with its ideas more than with its bloodletting. Had Stanze allowed a little more of the red stuff to flow throughout his film (we only get two or three scenes of over-the-top grue) there'd be something to settle us. What those who complain about extra sloppy sections of violence fail to release is that gore is a release, a way of draining off the terribleness of what we are witnessing. A good throat slitting or decapitation is like the punctuation at the end of a sentence. It gives us closure and a kind of comfort to move on with the rest of the movie.

But since Clara is constantly attacked - both bodily and intellectually - we never get that rather irregular release. Instead, the tension continues to twist in us all throughout Scrapbook, making the movie an unpleasant bit of real anti-entertainment. It is imminently watchable - Stanze's sensational camerawork and potent directorial flair are very powerful. The performances are also so excellent and authentic that we never once fall out of the story and into the "it's only a movie" zone. Yet due to its very shamelessness, its desire to delve down deep into the most sadistic, sickening aspects of a serial killer's concept of life, Scrapbook fails to fulfill us. Perhaps it's the lack of context that does it. Watching a man shoot another in broad daylight has a kind of kinky exploitation shock value to it. But if we knew both men's story, if we understood why the confrontation is occurring and the background that lead to this final, fatal moment, the murder would be so much more effective. Scrapbook lacks that necessary milieu to be truly memorable. As it stands, it is an amazing work of cinematic skill with very limited substantive potency.

The Video:
Though it was made more than seven years ago, when home movie technology ran more toward the Super VHS and 8mm film facets than high definition digital, Scrapbook looks fantastic in this colorful, clear 1.33:1 full screen transfer. Whoever handled the remastering did a near reference quality job. This no-budget extravaganza of excess is artistically inspiring and visually unnerving. Stanze even mixes in a little lo-tech camcorder footage to flesh out his amazing mise-en-scene.

The Audio:
If the film has a flaw, it's the internal microphone mismanagement of the soundtrack. It's WTAS time during almost every scene in this film (that's 'Whisper to a Scream' for all you auditory novices out there). The Dolby Digital Stereo does deliver a nicely atmospheric soundtrack that's highly reminiscent of The Residents as channeled by a death metal combo, but with a dialogue-heavy drama like Scrapbook, we want to hear the conversation. Sadly, we miss a lot of what these characters have to say to each other - it's either that, or blow out your home theater speakers whenever the decibel level rises.

The Extras:
Wicked Pixel 's DVD of this film is nicely fleshed out with an array of bonus features. There is a single deleted scene (without audio, sadly) that offers a snippet of footage from the barnyard brawl between Clara and Leonard, an entire 15 minutes of "Shower Cam" which gives us everything Stanze shot for the infamous "videotaped bath" sequence. It's unsettling stuff. A real meaty Making-Of follows, providing a 30 minute overview of the production, the pitfalls and the perils of creating a controversial film. We are also treated to a nice collection of trailers.

But the best added content on the disc is the full length audio commentary featuring Stanze, actress Haack and producer Jeremy Wallace. Walking us through each and every aspect of the movie's conception and making (including the unfortunate circumstances surrounding Biondo's death - this film was his baby), we seem to re-experience the movie right along with its cast and crew. Their insights into the story and its difficult salability are very wise, the technical hints are how-to informative and the entire track has a straightforward, educational ideal behind it. Stanze definitely wants to examine and explain how everything was done, hoping that you learn from his occasional inspirations and frequent foul-ups. This commentary makes a good DVD package a really fine digital presentation.

Final Thoughts:
This is truly a tough film to outright advocate. It is stark, brutal and very difficult to stomach at times. The levels of viciousness are nuclear and the tone is so dire and hopeless that watching it can make one feel like a convict moments before the Warden throws the switch on the Lethal Injection machine. But you cannot deny director Eric Stanze's talent. He makes actual movies, not just homemade excuses for same. For this reason alone, Scrapbook is Recommended. A little more plot professionalism and this would be one of the better outsider exercises in visceral horror ever to come out of the pre/post-millennial home video ideal. As it stands it is still a stunning, stunted achievement for this amateur auteur.

Want more Gibron Goodness? Come to Bill's TINSEL TORN REBORN Blog (Updated Frequently) and Enjoy! Click Here