Bazaar Bizarre
FilmThreat Review
****1/2 Stars by Eric Campos
It’s
not every serial killer film that’s presented by James Ellroy.
That’s why this one grabs your attention immediately. For those interested
in serial killers, this is like getting that one gym coach in high school
that was worth a shit while all the others were rubbish – you sit up and
pay close attention. In the opening moments of Benjamin Meade’s latest
film, Ellroy greets the viewer and presents the case of one Bob Berdella, a man
who was convicted of torturing and killing six young men in the mid-eighties.
In a way it’s a stamp of approval. This will be a story to take note of.
And it is, even though it really is the story of another sick fucker who gets
his rocks off by performing hideous misdeeds upon people he’s attracted
to. But what really sets this story apart from the pack is the way it’s
presented here. Those of you that know Ben Meade’s work (Das Bus) know
to expect something out of the ordinary, and Bazaar Bizarre does not spoil
those expectations. This is the most creative, and successful, re-telling
of a true crime that I’ve ever seen.
Meade
gets the title of his latest film from the shop Bob Berdella owned and operated
in Kansas City called Bizarre Bazaar. Those who are fond of the darker
things in life could always find something they fancied at Bob’s shop as
he hustled over the counter ghoulishness such as replica skulls and other
occult items. You know the type of store I’m talking about. And if you
frequent them, you also know that the people that run these shops are some of
the nicest people around, even if they are a little strange. Not the case with
Berdella. Between 1985 and 1988, he acted upon his love of the sick and twisted
by kidnapping, torturing and murdering six young men, slowly, in the privacy
of his own home, only to leave their dismembered corpses out by the trash for
the garbage men to take away. Torture methods involved cruel experiments such
as injecting Drano in the throats of his victims and administering electric shocks
to sexual abuse such as rape with various objects such as vegetables and Berdella’s
own fist. When his last victim managed to escape his grasp, running through the
street, naked, except for a dog collar and a leash, Berdella’s reign of
terror ended and that’s when authorities finally uncovered this torture
den where Berdella also resided and kept note of all the demonic things he had
done. While behind bars, reporters, psychologists, and authorities poked and
prodded at Berdella until he finally croaked from a supposed heart attack four
years into his life sentence. Bazaar Bizarre is his story.
This isn't a documentary as much as it is an experimental re-telling of Berdella’s
grisly tale utilizing archival news footage, as well as recent interviews of
those associated with the case, including the victim that got away. Between these
interviews, James Ellroy pops up now and again to act as the “voice of
reason,” or as I like to call him, “The Bullshit Detector.” After
comments are made by various interviewees, Ellroy will stop in for a moment to
add his own two-cents and it’s always the most levelheaded view – cutting
through the bullshit.
Gluing this all together is re-enactment footage shot by Meade of Berdella’s hideous activities. This footage blends seamlessly with the rest of the material, fleshing out the gruesome story. But it’s Meade’s own penchant for the bizarre here that makes the film stand out. Featured here along with the graphic re-enactments of torture and slaughter are musical numbers and staged footage of Berdella just being a fat, sick pig. It’s not that Meade is making light of the situation, it just seems that he’s rubbing Berdella’s face in his own misery by poking fun at him just in case he’s watching from his spot in burning hell. It’s just enough that it doesn’t come off as ridiculous, but it is enough to create an all new experience in handling this sort of documentary subject matter--with just a hint of a sense of humor. Meade's approach makes the facts all the more grisly.