Synopsis
Blessed are the Meek
The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong.
2017 Directed by Ryan Prows
The sordid lives of an addict, an ex-con, and a luchador collide when an organ harvesting caper goes very, very wrong.
Wow. This is an insane one. Has a Mystery Train/Pulp Fiction non-linear story structure that results in fun reveals. But be warned... about as dark as a black comedy can get.
Impressive debut. Looking forward to seeing Ryan Prows's short Narcocorrido and what he does next.
This totally messed-up movie that deals with human sex trafficking, organ theft, hard drugs, organized crime and corrupt cops somehow manages to pull a few heartstrings by the end. Lowlife seems to suffer from budget and casting constraints at the beginning—and you'd like to see a story this good have a little more technical polish—but things really pick up by the midpoint and Lowlife wins you over, even as it pushes you away. The inclusion of Ricardo Zarate's enforcer character (with a luchador mask and legacy to protect) and Jon Oswald's ex-con character (a non-racist with a full-face swastika tattoo) were highlights for me and leant both laughs and tremendous heart to an otherwise grimy film. Though an inexact and…
A powerhouse feature length debut for director and co-writer Ryan Prows. A Pulp Fiction-esque anthology of interlocking stories presents a cast of deeply flawed characters, destroying the lives of those around them as they collide together in their own quests for redemption. Each member of the cast brings depth to their character, making each stand out without drawing away from the ensemble (though arguably Ricardo Adam Zarate stands out with his surreal, larger than life performance as a disgraced luchador turned hired muscle).
The script finds moments to be both funny and devastating in its presentation of how drugs and crime have torn people and families apart, and set them on a path of self destruction. The grand finale, bringing all of these characters and tales together, ties all the plots up satisfyingly, both with tragedy and the hope for a better future. It's a rich and original set of tales that shouldn't be overlooked.
A disgraced luchador, a white guy with a swastika tattooed on his face, a pregnant lady, and a few others lives converge while trying to get out from under the slimy paws of a local crime boss whose interests include organ harvesting among other things.
Great first film from director Ryan Prows. Has that Tarantino type of vibe with all the interwoven storylines and gritty characters. Bloody and fast paced.
7 out of 10
Lowlife
Still one of the best independent features of the decade. Just go watch it, I beg all of you.
A-
Day 19, Augusts Horror Scavenger Hunt. Watch a movie with a wrestler in it.
Pulled through the pit of hell and back when a group of people find themselves in Teddy's web of organ theft and sex trafficking.
These individuals have sunk low, and the way they band together is quite something. Gives you hope that Evil will be overcome. I for one was cheering each hit to the face El Monstrou pounded at the end.
Cherryz yelling 'TAKE HIM DOWN'
The first time I saw this film, it was an explosion. Prime spot, world premiere at the Fantasia film fest, packed Concordia university theater. The crowd freaked out like a wild animal. No budget daringness — bombastic, clever, and grotesque.
Watching it again tonight in a half full microcinema, I realized how challenging and potentially offensive Lowlife is. It’s a different beast in a small room where you can hear everybody breathing. And man do I love it.
This movie is dark as fuck. It’s a sadistic type of humor, getting off on making you laugh at something awful while someone else in the room is grimacing. But somehow within that button pushing that I’m sure will irritate certain viewers, there’s…
I was really impressed with this directorial debut. It started off almost like a horror, then it went into bonkers Crimson Executioner type crazy that I thought it was gonna stick with. But no, for the majority it had the fab feel of a really great 90s crime flick. Loved how it all played out, seeing the day from different perspectives all leading upto a fab finale. Some really gruesome images in this too. Ryan Prows is definitely one to look out for.
Ma'am, not cool calling me a Nazi. You don't know my struggle.
-Randy
Director Ryan Prows makes his low budget feature film debut. Someone give this man money to make more films! Ridiculous black comedy that brings a luchador, a former drug addict and an ex-con with a swastika tattooed on his face together to possibly try and take down a black market organ dealer/sex slave trafficker or maybe their just trying to survive the day. Mark Burnham is way to good at playing a gigantic piece of shit.
Really looking forward to seeing what Prows does next.
'Nuff Said
What a ride. From baffling to mean, funny, disturbing, brutal, hilarious, endearing, nasty, upsetting, shocking and probably a whole lot more. This should have been a total mess, but somehow it isn't. Simply amazing how Ryan Prows stitches together different vibes, genres and storylines into one pretty smoothly moving film. Great characters too. Eccentric is putting it mildly. These guys never stop surprising you. Just like the script. It just gets better and better. Genius writing with high quotability. Madness with a heart. What a treat. El legado es todo!
I’ve said it a couple times before but I’ll say it again, IFC Midnight tends to overhype their films. Yes there have been films that lived up to the hype and then there’s ones that haven’t, I was really scared that Lowlife was going to be one of those movies where it just didn’t live up to the hype. Luckily I was proved wrong, this movie is surprisingly very dark and exactly what I was looking for....different. The movie has this really really dark humor that actually works quite well, also found this movie somewhat disturbing in a way. Just how they handled the subject matter was just really surprising and something you seriously would not expect, I also found…
Kind of like 𝘕𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘦, but with just a tad bit more black market organ harvesting, sex slavery, heroin addiction, and horrifying institutional racism. I need to take a shower.
The title of Prows' previous film Narcocorrido sounded really familiar to me, and seeing Nicki Micheaux was also ringing bells - then I realized I saw Narcocorrido a while back, and rather liked it!
And despite the intensely stomach-churning depravity Lowlife brings to the table, I rather liked this too. The film's last few chapters have some great moments. I’ll admit, it is quite funny to watch a guy with a giant swastika tattooed on his face earnestly insist he’s not at all racist. A rather wack dynamic, hilariously resolved.
Call me simplistic, but centering a Black woman in such a ripping, pulpy, confident nightmare and having her genuinely multi-dimensional was unexpectedly meaningful, somehow. Micheaux is really excellent in this. I'd like to see her in more films! If more of the cast matched her acting chops, it'd be a better watch, but however you slice it, a quite good film.
Kind of like 𝘕𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘣𝘳𝘦, but with just a tad bit more black market organ harvesting, sex slavery, heroin addiction, and horrifying institutional racism. I need to take a shower.
There’s no denying that this film is wild as fuck, however; it just didn’t hit the mark for me. I love dark humour and whilst the humour here is certainly dark, it just never really landed, definitely had its moments, but they were far and few between. Enjoyed the non-linear storyline and that ending was pure insanity!!
This has been on my list for a while but hearing the boys talk about it on Pure Cinema Podcast, I threw it on. Have to say I’m a little bummed I slept on this for a few years. Solid gory and fun movie.
I wanted to like this movie but its just unwatchable. By the 30 min mark the terrible direction and horrible performances just overwhelmed me.
This is definitely a film that has so much potential, the beginning was fantastic but in the third act (titled thugs), the movie really loses a lot of steam and gets almost comical with how bad the acting is done by the two thugs. from there, it honestly doesn't get any better, but it does come to close that is imo unrooted with the first half pace of the film, and again, becomes very out of place and rushed. it seems like the ended was just them tying the knot on the characters in the story that you never really got to know or even care about.
with that being said, the director of this film has talent and I'm very excited to see what else he will do in the future because this had a lot of potential but was drowned out by a rushed plot and ending.
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