The Special (2019)

Review - I can almost hear screenwriters, James Newman and Mark Steensland sitting in a room, tossing out story ideas, and saying, “Yeah, it’s all fun and games until someone actually sticks their dick in a box, and then…all bets are off.” That probably didn’t happen, but that’s actually all the premise you need to spark interest in “The Special”. The who’s, how’s, where’s, why’s, and they-did-what’s are all a part of the fun. If you want to liken the film to a horrific turn on the Lonely Island/Saturday Night Live skit, be my guest; whatever get butts in theater seats, but really this is a story about addiction, no pun intended.

And it’s an effective enough one too, even if it’s a noticeably low-budget production; albeit one of the best made of its kind. On a shoe-string budget of only $100,000, this cast and crew filmed for just 17 days in Pennsylvania, and the result is a staggeringly solid piece of work. Yes, the dead ambient room sound of a low-budget film is there, but the editing is so tight that it keeps the space from ever feeling empty. The lighting is above par, the sets are amiable, the effects are first rate, and the score is solid. This is a film ripe and ready for a full studio upgrade with minimal effort required.

The only drawback I noticed has to do with the early characterizations of the film’s protagonist, Jerry, and his wife Erin. I just feel that their “situation” could use a bit of fleshing, again no pun intended, out before it all goes off the deep end. Yet, even this is not detrimental to the film’s effect because Davy Raphaely, who plays Jerry in the film, fully commits to the delivery of his performance. I may not have been with him on his decisions, especially early on, but I’ve got to see what the hell happens next.

-m-