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THE STORY
The films opens with Clara, the latest prey of Leonard a serial killer, screaming while locked in darkness in the back of a transit van. The doors are opened and as light rushes in, she finds herself companion to a dying woman, Leonard's last victim, waiting to be disposed of.
Jumping back to Leonard's childhood and the sexual abuse inflicted on him by his siblings, we are given an insight into then events that molded Leonard’s psychotic personality.
Clara is taken to a rundown farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, the inside full of remnants of Leonard's decaying life and earlier conquests. He keeps a scrapbook full of Polaroid's, hair, blood and other souvenirs from his victims. He also forces his victims to write down their feelings and thoughts within the pages of the book, which he uses as a record of his own brutal and sick life. Clara is to be his crowning moment, with the ending of her own life, she will be the final chapter in the book that will hail Leonard’s genius and make him famous. Her first passages in the scrapbook come after she is brutally raped. Needless to say, she does not write favorable things about Leonard or the size of his manhood. This leads to a severe beating. The savagery continues with Leonard using Polaroid's and video to document the atrocities he commits. Clara now realizes that her only chance of survival is to pander to Leonard's psychotic ego, writing more and more complementary paragraphs with the pages of the scrapbook.
Clara’s ordeal is only interrupted when Leonard's attentions are disturbed by one of Leonard's neighbors, who he deals with quickly and mercilessly. Clara attempts an escape, but it is short lived. Leonard captures her quickly, relieving her of a few body parts as he finds her hiding out in the barn.
All the brutality suffered eventually takes it’s toll. Clara’s mental state collapses and she becomes what Leonard always wanted - a subservient companion who sees him for what he is - a great man.
THOUGHTS
All underground films suffer from the same problem - funding. In the best examples, and SCRAPBOOK is one of them, the lack of finance is more than made up for by imaginative scripting, compelling performances, and the ability to dwell on taboo subjects in a way mainstream filmmakers could never do.
SCRAPBOOK was made on a shoestring budget with a cast of six actors and set in just a few locations. Director Eric Stanze handles the film magnificently and must be commended for an excellent production. The sex and violence portrayed are incredibly graphic and made me feel more than a little uncomfortable. At times as I felt as if I was intruding rather than watching. The performances are both of exceptional quality and add greatly to the feeling of realism generated throughout.
SCRAPBOOK reminded me a lot of THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE in places - the location, sets with an ample littering of used body parts... SCRAPBOOK is a definite must see in the world of underground filmmaking, up there with the likes of NEKROMANTIK and AFTERMATH.
I very much enjoyed, if "enjoyed" is the right word, the whole experience of this film and urge you to view this underground classic.
This movie was released by Cryptkeeper Films in an unrated format in mainland Europe. It was later banned in the UK and heavily cut for Cryptkeeper’s re-release. The BBFC demanded substantial cuts, more than likely killing the whole impact of the film. The only way to see this movie uncut is to get the American DVD release, or dig up the ultra-rare initial (uncut) Cryptkeeper Films European release. Also, the uncut American DVD release has much better picture quality than both the cut and uncut Cryptkeeper Films PAL releases.
IMAGE QUALITY
The picture quality is very good considering how the film was shot and on what budget.
SOUND
The sound is Dolby 2.0 - there really little need for anything better and the sound is more than adequate.
EXTRAS
There a good amount of extra material on the Cryptkeeper Films DVD - nothing outstanding but for a small company like Cryptkeeper Films I commend them on their efforts. Preview Trailer, Photo Gallery, a trailer for the Eric Stanze feature SAVAGE HARVEST, and the best extra: a Behind the Scenes Featurette which I found an extremely good companion to the film. (The uncut American DVD release contains these bonus features, plus much more.)
Cryptkeeper Films DVD RATING:
MOVIE: A+
IMAGE: B
SOUND: B
EXTRAS: B+
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