Eric Stanze has built himself a reputation as a solid indie filmmaker who does not hold back in the areas of sex and violence whether separate or combined. I have to admit that the only Stanze movie I have seen to date is Scrapbook which is a brutally raw depiction of the rape-revenge genre. The sense of realism and the commitment of the actors to Stanze's vision are impressive and it is obvious that this guy has established himself as an talent in a market that has more crap than quality. China White Serpentine is further evidence of this as we get a love story of sorts based in a world of domination and drug use.

The story opens with a writer named Dave (DJ Vivona) who is doing his work in an isolated house. There is a knock on the door and his dead brother, Trent (Jason Allen Wolfe), is there to present him with a DVD. Dave takes the DVD only to have Trent disappear into thin air. It was not until the Dave checked out the contents of the DVD that I got over my fear that this was going to be a lame psychological thriller about an isolated writer slowly going crazy. Once the mysterious disc starts spinning, we are introduced to Beth (Eli DeGeer), a woman who looks like she has given up on life. She tells the tale of how she fell in love with Trent when they both found themselves trapped by their addictions and dependence on a woman named Tracey (Amanda Booth) who controlled them both physically and mentally. As the film progresses, we see how Tracey's mind games increased leading to tragic consequences.

Usually when we watch films that depict the lives of drug addicts, we see pathetic human beings who are devoid of feelings and emotion. Stanze and co-director Robin Garrels do something different here by presenting Beth and Trent as two people who fall in love while in a terrible situation and how the love they share makes them stronger. By combining the frenetic sex during drug-fueled threesomes and a tender moment in a bathtub or laughter while eating cereal, we can clearly see the difference between the situations as well as their desire to escape. It is rare that characters like this can be so engaging. A lot of this is due to Wolfe and DeGeer's fearless performances as they spend much of the running time naked and mentally spent.

The main attraction in this movie is the relationship between Trent, Beth, and Tracey, When the focus is on these characters, the story is totally engaging and I felt like I was watching something quite special that you don't usually see in films from studios like Sub Rosa. Unfortunately, I was pulled out of this whenever DJ Vivona appeared onscreen as his performance is not even remotely close to the level of Wolfe and DeGeer. Vivona's performance made me feel like I was watching a low budget horror movie and the fact that the directors opted for cheap gore effects in the closing moments was also a big disappointment. I would have been quite satisfied if the movie featured only the tragic love story of the main characters and that the attempts at a clever twist and chainsaw mayhem had been left on the cutting room floor. The same goes for the strange and unnecessary post-credits epilogue that changes the tone of the film into something else entirely. These elements take a very good film and make it only average as they seem to stoop down to the conventions that plague many low budget movies including excessive violence and the overwriting of a great script to try to make it more clever than it needs to be. (Josh Pasnak, 3/21/09)

Directed By: Eric Stanze, Robin Garrels.
Written By: Eric Stanze, Robin Garrels.

Starring: Eli DeGeer, Jason Allen Wolfe, DJ Vivona, Amanda Booth.

Picture Ratio: Full Frame.

Picture Quality: It looks good but keep in mind that this is a low budget movie that was shot on digital video.

Extras: We get two commentaries on this disc that are both interesting and they offer up slightly different takes on the production process. The first is from co-directors Stanze and Garrels as well as cinematographer Jason Christ. The second is from actors Eli DeGeer and Amanda Booth. We also get an isolated music and soundscapes track. I never get much out of music-only tracks but I know there are some of you out there who do. Next up, is a 36-minute behind-the-scenes documentary that feature interviews with all of the major players and is put together well. We also get a 10-minute featurette on the post-production process, some outtakes, and five trailers.

Visit Wicked Pixel for more info.