Solidrariol
Am I Missing Something?
Ketrivie
It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.
Nicole
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
Darin
One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
soulexpress
If the action genre has its own version of Tommy Wiseau, it's Kirk Fogg, the writer, director, and star of DISTORTION, as ineptly made a thriller as "The Room" was a drama.The plot: Porter (Fogg) is a homeless, drug-addicted ex-L.A. cop with an inexplicably faithful girlfriend, Rachel (Sarah Lahti). Desperate for money, Rachel agrees to appear in a live Internet porn feed. But something goes wrong. Porter is knocked unconscious and wakes up alone next to some railroad tracks. He obsessively searches for the missing Rachel, harming several people and committing numerous felonies in the process.Fogg created a cast of unpleasant, unlikable, and thoroughly unsympathetic characters. When Porter held a gun to his own head and yammered on about being "The Rifleman," I was wishing he'd pull the trigger so this godawful movie would end. But no such luck. He remains alive to steal the car of a sweet, gentle man who's trying to get him to an AA meeting—never mind that Porter's drug of choice is cocaine— to physically assault and threaten people with information on Rachel's whereabouts, to try manipulating his ex- partner into helping him look for Rachel, and to break into a man's house and force him at gunpoint to take him to where Rachel is being held. (That part confused me as Porter had previously demanded only addresses.) Given all that, you may understand why I felt absolutely no compassion or sympathy for Porter, even at his lowest and most despairing of moments, i.e. nearly every second of the film's 83 minutes.Sarah Lahti is beautiful—too beautiful to convince me that her character is a homeless junkie who does Internet porn. While Porter looks disheveled and acts like the paranoid maniac that his coke habit created, Rachel looks and behaves with relative normalcy. Hell, she even has perfect teeth! Have you ever met a junkie with good dental habits? Meanwhile, the supporting characters bear such clever names as Diner Tough Guy, Waitress, Cook, Security Guard, Doorman, Porn Actor, and Henchman.The film is awash with artsy-fartsy and unnecessary slow-motion flashbacks, not to mention more quick cuts than a week's worth of music videos. And Fogg's idea of dialogue includes this little gem: "Don't give up five minutes before the miracle, man. You know, they say most accidents occur within a five-mile radius of the home. Man, you're almost home! Don't f--- it up now." There's also this bit from a phone conversation: "Hello, I'm looking for Mr. Christopher Jenkins. He represents my interests."DISTORTION's main theme is the thin line between fantasy and reality. Kirk Fogg's fantasy was to make a film that earned him acclaim as a great writer, director, and actor. The reality? His film sucks. The glowing reviews here undoubtedly came from the director's friends and relatives, at his request.
Michael Hantid-Margeta
I thought the movie was great. I watched the "behind the scenes" clip first before watching the film. It helped me understand the background of the film, including the story, the plot, the location, the characters and actors, etc. I have to say that I'm proud of myself in watching Kirk's film after not ever hearing about him in almost 15 years since "Legends of the Hidden Temple" wrapped up. I watched the entire film, from beginning to end. I thought, "Wow! This isn't really bad as I thought it would be." Even though the first 30 minutes were rough and sometimes difficult to follow, the rest of the story helped capture that interest. When scenes transitioned with flashbacks in different areas of the movie, I realized they connect with the the plot and I understood better the characters as well. For example, when I saw the flashback of young Porter discovering his father had killed himself in different parts of the movie, at that point I understood WHY Porter struggled with life, getting into drugs, leading to the Gorman incident, which then precedes the nightmarish conflict in the movie.As a fan of Kirk Fogg, I truly enjoyed watching his film. I strongly recommend movie-goers, fans, and anyone new to filming or knowing Kirk to watch this film. I give it a 2 thumbs up, an accomplished A!A message to Kirk Fogg: Hey Kirk! Keep doing what makes you happy in life and you will relish the benefits of its' struggle. You have inspired a lot of people to go for their dreams and be able to succeed in what they want to accomplish, more than you could ever know. You have inspired me. Stay in peace, my friend. Thank you so much!
Professor L. I. Gate
Poor reviews for this style of film show how accustomed people have become to escapist polish of big Hollywood films, where the characters are unremittingly attractive, articulate and witty. "Distortion" is taught, engaging, well-filmed and realistic. Here the characters are confused, contradictory and irrational: in short, absolutely natural and how we act in real life. I've been with the kind of people in portrayed in this film -- living on the ragged fringes of society, lost, aimless, drug damaged, each operating according to a confused and changeable mash of ethics and corruption -- and this film accurately portrays how these people look, think and talk. The cinematography and lighting is particularly interesting being obviously low-budget, rough and stylish all at once. All the characters in this film are convincing. The heroine, played by Sara Lahti, is darling and pragmatically amoral. The hero, played by writer and director Kirk Fogg, is a basically good guy who can hardly function on his own anymore. It's a true romance as our hero is driven to a sort of effectiveness sheerly by love.
johemmel
i didn't expect much, but at least some Sunday afternoon entertainment. be warned: this is not even a movie which invites you to eat some popcorn have a coke and feed your dog in between. add a bad script to some cheesy camera-work, combine it with actors, who would fail every backyard audition, and sum it up with one of the worst soundtracks ever composed - now you get an impression of the qualitative standard. ah, the plot: drugged ex-cop wants to free his drugged girl-friend, who got snatched while shooting a porno. don't get me wrong - i love amateur- and low budget-movies if they are done with passion and creativity, but this one really sucks in all possible ways...