From the Drain

Cronenberg's early foray into the destruction of eccentrism is one of these early praised pretentious films sorts one cannot help but slightly appreciate. Two of his other obscure classics have a much deeper meaning and value - Crimes of the Future and Stereo. Two nutty men are sitting in a bath tub in an institution. Like Scorsese's The Big Shave, It seems to have some war conflict issues going on in the background of the character.


Man #1 is a man with a contrived French-American accent who firmly believes in postmodernism. He dutifully inherits all habitual characteristics of the French and even sports the similar head pieces. He denounces the claim of there being tendrils coming out of the drain and heeds Man #2's (A nutty hair-lipped retard) warning of foreshadowing peril.


Not stark black & white but rather of a grainy gray scale, the transfer and production value is beyond horrible. A time stamp is visible on the only print. Running at 14 minutes long, It's almost 13 minutes too long. The characters are some failed attempt at creating bizarre and surreal characters. David Lynch's Cowboy & The Frenchman was a much more successful attempt at using nationality as a key to surreal art.


A subtle "avant-garde" soundtrack is lightly playing in the background while the stop motion tendril begins to choke Man #2 as Man #1 whimsically laughs in the background. Man #1 seems to be a past life of comedian Michael Ian Black, seeing as how they share a similar smile, humor, and face. It's a shame that Stella has more artistic integrity than this. From the Drain is a testament to the hilarity of the title of "art."

-mAQ