Nick Vallelonga is one of those filmmakers who keeps popping up on my radar every few years. The funny thing is that I am never actively seeking out his films but they end up in my possession in one way or another. When I first began reviewing movies, I came across In the Kingdom of the Blind, the Man with One Eye Is King. This is an impressive independent flick from the gangster genre and I enjoyed it. Vallelonga even e-mailed me at the time to thank me for the review which I thought was really cool as I had just started writing. He is good at assembling decent character actor ensembles and he also takes on the writing and producing duties in some cases. He also casts himself in his movies from time to time making him somewhat of a jack of all trades. The only problem is that the results are not always consistent.

Disturbance stars Paul Sloan as a serial killer turned hitman named Hud Masters. This is an unstable individual who works for an agency that is using him to track down alien beings who are taking over the bodies of humans. There are only a few of these pesky body snatchers left and they come across almost like the replicants in Blade Runner with a woman cleverly named Leader (Hayley Du Mond) as the leader. The twist is that the aliens can "body jump" from one body to another to make them difficult to track. If this sounds familiar, it is because this concept has already been explored (and much more effectively) in The Hidden back in the 80's. The movie spends a lot of time trying to figure out where it is going and when it finally focuses, the result is somewhat underwhelming.

In addition to a concept that is not entirely original, the plot tends to drag at times with long scenes of exposition between the poorly staged action scenes. The movie jumps around quite a bit trying to decide if it is a straight-up action flick, a futuristic noir, or a social commentary. It would be great to say it is a combination of the three but it felt like I was watching three separate movies that are trying to find synchronicity. Vallelonga has shown that he can make a decent noirish drama and this is where he should focus. Dabbling in the horror and action genres do not work for this director and these elements feel awkward and amateur. The fight scenes in particular are shot way too close and come across as poorly choreographed and unnatural. On the upside, Colleen Porch (Starship Troopers 2) is strikingly beautiful as the agent who handles Hud even though her character doesn't have much to do. There is also an actress who plays a hooker named Kitten who is so bad that it is amusing. Thankfully, her part is small enough to provide unintentional comic relief without getting annoying. She may have just been having an off day when she shot her scenes but wow.

When making a low budget film, there can be a tendency to take on many of the big jobs to save money and retain control. Directing in itself is a huge task and it always surprises me when directors act in their own movies as it is very difficult to focus on both tasks simultaneously. There are exceptions like Ben Affleck and George Clooney but these guys have big crews and big budgets to help them along. On an indie film, I usually feel that taking on both of these duties is a huge disservice to the end product. My advice to Vallelonga would be to stop acting in his own films and choose one or the other of these jobs so that that the mental commitment is there. It is also important to ensure that the script flows well so hiring a writer to help with this could improve things.

There is a lot of talent on this flick that I felt is wasted. Du Mond makes a great villain but doesn't even show up until the movie is well underway. "Crime Story" alumni Tony Denison is good as a stock cop and Katrina Law ("Spartacus: Blood and Sand") is memorable as a medical examiner but both actors have limited screen time. Todd Masters (Demon Knight) is on hand to do the effects and his talents are grossly underutilized (maybe it was a budget thing). The score from Harry Manfredini (Friday the 13th) is another thing that could have been a lot more interesting but sounds generic and cheap and is overshadowed by the unnecessary use of Blue Oyster Cult's "Don't Fear the Reaper". Vallelonga has a knack for bringing together a decent team but he needs to find a way to focus his attention to bringing out the best in them to deliver a more successful picture. (Josh Pasnak, 2/21/13)

Directed By: Nick Vallelonga.
Written By: Nick Vallelonga.

Starring: Paul Sloan, Colleen Porch, Hayley Du Mond, Nick Vallelonga.

aka: Choker.