I was scrolling through the long list of movies provided by cable and was torn between Luster and another one that looked interesting. I'm glad I picked Luster. It is essentially a spin on Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde comically wrought in an LA landscape that makes it hard not to side with the monster. One of the great pleasures of the movie is the constantly running dialog of a radio station persona reviling the weak nice guy and encouraging such saps to morph into snakes. A variety of LA narcissists and simpletons populate the landscape along with some truly likable sorts. The viewer is invited into the main characters fundamental schism and may well sit on the fence as the protagonist does bloody battle with himself. In Dr. Jekyl and Mr Hyde the cultural background is a Victorian world in which the humorless Mr. Hyde is repulsive and an assault on virtue. In this version Thomas Luster becomes better looking and more compelling when he is at his worst almost winking at the camera and inviting us to appreciate his rampage of murder and lust. The film is shot on a low budget but plays as well as wealthier films. The script is very witty and the lead does a wonderful job of getting us to identify with the tormented nice guy, recoil as he does at the horrors wrought by his alters even as its hard not to resent his mousiness. The tension in the movie is well crafted and while we pity the chump chewing on his fingernails the picture is also pathetically funny. I have never seen any other Adam Mason films. Count me a fan now.
Review of Luster
