Kind of a cross between Ingmar Bergman and Todd Solondz but with more of a horror genre bend, Douglas Buck has been making independent horror movies for a few years now. Before you instantly dismiss that as shot on video garbage, let it stand that not only are the three movies in this set shot on film but they're some of the most mind-bending and intense examples of what a horror movie can be to come down the pipe in a long while. In short, they're the cinematic equivalent to a swift punch to the balls, but in the best possible way. They hurt you, they make you feel something sharp and fast, and they leave you wanting to curl up in the fetal position and cry.

These movies have been staples of underground and horror oriented film festivals for a few years now and were released independently as a two disc set by Buck. Image Entertainment now makes that two disc set much more widely available and really the only thing that's changed is that instead of being on two single sided/singe layered discs, they're on a double sided flipper. While the two disc format is preferable for most of us, the flipper gets the job done and this is definitely a case where if you ignore the content based on the presentation, you're selling yourself short. Douglas Buck has the potential to be the next big thing. Get in on the ground floor if you haven't already.

Cutting Moments (1997):

In this horrifying slice of life short, a wife and mother (played by Nicca Ray) goes about her daily routine as any of us would until she finds out that her husband (Gary Betsworth) is molesting their son. She decides that she should be the subject of his desires and/or abuse and in order to bring the obviously negative attention he relishes on their child onto herself instead, she opts to get his attention by way of some horrifying self mutilation. As the authorities are on their way to take him away, her desperate measures increase as it all builds to a completely messed up conclusion.

Heavy stuff indeed. This one is very well acted, Ray in particular shines in her part and is believable in her confusion and at the same time in her conviction. It builds really well and the last ten minutes are incredibly intense. When she realizes the inevitable, and comes to the conclusion that she has no other choice, her actions go completely off the deep end. This isn't one for the squeamish…

Home:

This is, in a sense, a remake of the first short though this time out instead of getting it from the wife's point of view, we get it from the husband's. Gary Betsworth once again plays the man of the house, who spends his days toiling away at the office trying to earn a buck. We learn through some intense flashback scenes of his childhood, where he was beaten by his parents and pretty harshly abused. From there, we come to realize that Gary is very much a product of his upbringing and that the emotional and social poison fed to him in his younger, formative years has spread to his own family – his wife and kid respectively.

After watching the first short we know how this one is going to end pretty early on but that hardly diminishes the impact that the movie has when it finally achieves its destiny. The acting isn't as strong the second time around but it is still better than what you'll find in most low budget genre efforts. What it does do really well is, like the first short, build and build some more and once again, the last few minutes are completely riveting and very intense.

Prologue:

In the final part of the trilogy, we learn of a teenage girl who has spent the last few years of her life in the hospital recovering for a horrific assault that left her without any hands and almost completely paralyzed. As her memories start coming back to her, a little bit at a time, she begins to remember the events that took place and finally decides to find out from the man who did this to her 'why.'

Less confrontational in terms of gore or flat out disturbing visuals, Prologue is never the less incredibly bleak, even if it doesn't go as far as the first two movies do. It's a very well made film that has stronger performances than its predecessors and more believable character development thanks in part to its longer running time. This is a more reflective film than the first two, and rather than hit us outside the head with the act of violence instead we're left to ponder the after effects of it. As such, it's appropriately titled and the perfect way to cap off the two movies that came before it.

The Longplay Version:

The three films were also edited together into one longer film which played at a few festivals. While viewing the three shorts as separate entities is the ideal way to watch them on DVD, it's interesting to sit down with them all joined together and that's the option we get on the flipside of this DVD. There are some minor differences in this version in terms of how the material is edited and in how the credits are displayed (you don't get individual credits for each short, you get one set of opening credits and one set of closing credits instead).

Video:

Cutting Moments and Home appear on the first side of the disc in their short film format in their original aspect ratio of 1.33.1 fullframe, while Prologue is shown 1.77.1 non-anamorphic widescreen. Quality of the image, considering the low budget origins of the material here, is quite good with nice color reproduction and solid black levels. Flesh tones look lifelike and accurate and the reds are strong and don't bleed into the other colors. Some fine detail gets a little lost in the grain from time to time but overall, this material looks very good on DVD.

On the second side of the disc, for the longplay version, everything is matted at roughly 1.78.1 non-anamorphic widescreen. Quality of the image is more or less identicle to the short film counterparts.