Acne
Gets better with age
In the world of indie film, cheap-o horror movies are a dime a dozen.  Add some nudity and gallons of fake blood and--voil--you have any number of interchangeable trashy titles cranked out by bottom-rung auteurs.  The lack of inspiration behind the myriad mindless movies does little to push creative envelopes or propagate intellectual discussion.  They do wonders for the Karo Syrup market, however.<br /><br />  Directed by and starring Rusty Nails, ACNE is a smart film that plays on the universal theme of adolescent alienation, with teenagers transforming into adolescent monsters.  The teens are victims of an insidious plague on their own bodies.  Collusion between Shale Oil and Mershey Chocolate Company results in a toxin tainting Barrington city's water supply.  Combined with the high lipidic levels of the teenagers' blood; the contagion results in teens sprouting gigantic zits on the tops of their heads.<br /><br />  The film's protagonists, Franny (Tracey Hayes) and Zooey (Nails), are the first victims of the plague.  They struggle to maintain their sanity, occasionally falling into a grease-fueled stupor as they search for the origin of their infection.  Meanwhile, two Army officers, Glenn Diver (Timothy Hutchings) and Tina Catastrophe (Mary Lurchritz), search for clues only to be impeded by their superior officers.<br /><br />  While sharing thematic elements with classic horror films such as TEENAGERS FROM OUTER SPACE and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, the stylistic origins of ACNE are steeped in the French Nouvelle Vague.  Apart from its literary nods (most notably to J. D. Salinger), ACNE has a terrific sense of cinema (listen for violin strains reminiscent of the theme from FRANKENSTEIN when Zooey meets an old gypsy woman traveling the countryside).<br /><br />  Shot in crisp black and white, ACNE has a terrific look.  Director Nails does a fantastic job of creating an atmosphere of dread while keeping pretension in check.  ACNE also has a great sense of warped humor, making it a cinematic experience that only improves upon repeated viewings.also has a great sense of warped humor, making it a cinematic experience that only improves upon repeated viewings.