Zero Charisma

Zero Charisma (2013) – I came for the impressive metal cred (Therion!) and found an insufferable and irredeemable jackass of a protagonist who’s never the least bit sympathetic (it’s a good performance, though); there are some true-to-life dramatic elements here, but the film has way too much unpleasantness for its own sake (additionally, the antagonist’s arc feels overly contrived); if the film’s creators were going for “bleak” and “cruel” with this “comedy,” they definitely succeeded, but I don’t know to what purpose; it’s kind of ironic that a prominent theme is that “games are supposed to be fun” and yet the film isn’t any damn fun at all. 4

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising

The Gamers: Dorkness Rising (2008) – Bigger and better than its predecessor in every way, this is an utterly hilarious film with so many great jokes, both obvious and subtle; the costumes, sets, and action all look impressively good given the film’s low budget, and the performances are pretty solid; in all, this has got to be my all-time favorite indie film. 8

War Between the Planets

War Between the Planets (1966) – Never mind the terrible dubbing or the fact that it’s got more visible wires than a marionette show; what separates this film from the scores of other glaringly low-budget B-movies of the sixties is its abject failure in every aspect of storytelling: the characters are saddled with interest-crushing amounts of inane bickering and technobabble, dumping all responsibility for explaining the otherwise incoherent story on the narrator. 2

The Man Who Could Work Miracles

The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936) – No doubt a special effects blockbuster 80 years ago, this is an amusing but meandering commentary on human nature, purpose, society, and power; it’s got some clumsy dialogue and the last ten minutes are super preachy, but Roland Young carries things along impressively well and Ralph Richardson is a scene bandit. 6

The Gamers

The Gamers (2002) – It’s sometimes dumb, and the director loves to hold a shot too long, but it’s genuinely funny—at times very much so—and on the whole, it’s pretty impressive considering that it has no budget and no acting; I’m not so sure about that weird meta thing at the end, though. 6

Knights of Badassdom

Knights of Badassdom (2013) – While it’s relatively kind to LARPing in general, it’s just the same unfunny gag over and over, and as horror, it’s equally tiresome; in short, this is a thin, sloppy film (everyone can read Enochian characters, but they can’t bother to learn correct archaic English grammar?) that’s likely to be uninteresting even to people with an inclination toward this sort of thing; I'm all for overcoming evil with the power of metal, but this is just poor (word on the street is the director’s cut is significantly better—hey, it’s gotta be). 4