Now, you probably haven’t heard of this film. I don’t think there are that many people who have. According to IMDB the film only grossed $6387 (about £4000). No one went to see this movie. I hadn’t actually seen it until this year due to having watched the films listed beforehand. The only reason why I now own the DVD for it is because it was in Poundland, which usually stocks DVDs for films of an extremely low quality.
Yet I think this film is great. It deserves to be more well known because it is on par with the other films in this sub-genre.
The film concerns Les (Michael Rapaport) who is a fairly ordinary man who signs up for a clinical trial for a new drug called ‘Special.’ Les begins to develop what he thinks are super powers, however he is actually developing an adverse psychological reaction to the drug. Of course, he decides to go and fight crime and that is exactly what he does.
People going into it expecting a dark comedy like Super will be surprised when they get something more along the lines of Defendor. The main character is unhinged and is dangerous to those around him due to his delusions and hallucinations. This creates a lot of complexity in the plot, where we root for Les but are also somewhat fearful of him, not sure what he is going to do next.
Not only this, but halfway through the film goes from darkly comic to just straight up dark, with a fairly upsetting yet triumphant ending. This will probably put many people off, but if you were okay with how dark some of the other films mentioned got at times then it shouldn’t be a problem.
But even if this is slightly off-putting then hopefully the plot itself will be enough. The ideas this film puts forward are simply amazing. It builds up a world of paranoia and deceit in a completely normal world. It shows that even in normal society there is something bigger than we normally see.
We also are shown that the only true super power anyone needs is the confidence and self-esteem to try and change the world and help people. You can be a normal person and still help. You don’t need any special training in anything to make a difference.
This all comes together to make a great cult film. Understated and unknown, it’s a film that deserves to have more popularity. On top of everything else it is wonderfully directed and the acting is great from everyone. I got this from a Poundland. If it’s still in stock I recommend getting it. You are paying far too little for it but at least you will have seen this great film!
Final Verdict: 8/10
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