Tone-Deaf

As a child, i used to play flute. I remember being a part of a school Orchestra, and i really messed up. I played the wrong notes, and the old female Orchestra leader was not happy. I remember she told me i have to concentrate more. I should have thrown the flute at her instead, and gone back to play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on Nintendo. Wait a second, this is exactly what i did. Oh man, i better start taking my memory pills, they worked so well the ones i found in Thailand on vacation. Have you ever heard a person who plays an instrument tone-deaf ? I have, and i remember it was actually in a bar in Scotland, back in New Years Eve in 2002. We were in a sport bar, and one guy thought he was going to play Bohemian Rhapsody on piano, and sing the whole song as well. It was a disaster, but i loved the guy. Not only was he tone-deaf, he singed like a group of castrated seagulls after a whiskey round. Now that´s my kind of New Years Eve party. You have probably heard tone-deaf people on different TV talent shows, where some singers think they are the biggest singing star. Of course this is nowhere near the truth, but it is still entertaining to watch. If i say the name Robert Patrick, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? I can imagine that would be Terminator 2: Judgement Day, where he played the iconic character T-1000. Legendary actor Robert Patrick have really made a fantastic career, making so many great films and giving us a lot of great characters. I have 2 films in my mind, that i have to mention in Robert Patrick´s film career. Let´s begin with the 1993 science fiction drama film Fire In The Sky, directed by Robert Lieberman. This is one of the best sci fi films, in the category of alien abduction. Fire In The Sky is not only a really well made sci fi film, this film also have a really good cast, and some really good acting as well. Pick it up on DVD or Blu Ray this Christmas. The next film that came to my mind is Cop Land, from director James Mangold. A 90´s classic with an amazing cast such as Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Ray Liotta, Robert Patrick and many more. It is worth to mention, that this is one of the best performances from Stallone in his career in this film. I got a chance to see the latest film with Robert Patrick on Blu Ray called Tone-Deaf. A horror comedy about a tone-deaf girl, does this story work better than expected, or should we all avoid this film at all cost ?

Olive is fired from her job, as she spends time with one of her best friends Leonore ( Hayley Marie Norman ). Leonore think that Olive needs some time away from the big city, to clear her mind. At first, Olive is not sure this is anything for her, but she eventually begin to look for a house to rent. She finds one, and contact the owner known as Harvey ( Robert Patrick ). The house looks lovely, and she agree to pay him. At first Everything seems fine, but there is something wrong with Harvey as he sneaks in to look at Olive, to make sure she is behaving herself. Soon, things are going to go out of control.

Imagine mixing the Dennis Quaid thriller The Intruder, with Norman Bates from Psycho, and mix in some bizarre American Psycho LSD trips, and you have Tone-Deaf in a nutshell. This film has a mixture of different styles, while trying to show you a really disturbing personality who have no limit of insanity. I would not say this film has anything really original to offer, but this film does manage to blend many different ingredients and lay them out in a stylish way. Let´s talk about the characters for a while. Robert Patrick as the insane serial killer Harvey, is a really good choice for this character. You can tell he have no control over his sick behavior, and Robert brings something unique with his performance, by portraying a very disturbed man with no remorse over who he kills. Actress Amanda Crew ( who i especially remember from the 2009 horror film The Haunting Of Connecticut ) gives her character Olive an interesting personality. One interesting detail about her is that she is tone-deaf ( that becomes very clear when she plays the piano ). The horror elements is one of the highlight in this film, where the serial killer story works with the plot. The only detail i feel does not work as well, is the attempt to make certain scenes funny. A few may work, but in some scenes you can feel that the jokes falls flat. I love dark comedy humour, especially in horror films. But this is something i feel does not work as well here as i was hoping for. Other than that, Tone-Deaf is a film that does have something to bring, especially if you love Robert Patrick as an actor. Director Richard Bates Jr., who directed a personal favourite film of mine called Excision ( a must see if you enjoy odd independent films ), still knows how to make horror films in his own unique way. I would not say this is his best film so far, but he have done a good job mixing in so many different ingredients. If you thought you were Tone-Deaf, don´t worry, just let Robert Patrick take care of that for you, and i guarantee you will thank him as he takes care of sinners. Worth a watch on VOD for sure.

Rating: DDD