Judas Kiss Blu-ray features poor video and audio in this poor Blu-ray release
Failed filmmaker Zachary Wells is convinced by his best friend and hotshot director Topher into replacing him as a judge in their film school's annual festival. Zach's one-night stand with a student backfires when that student walks into an interview the next morning calling himself Danny Reyes, the name Zach went by when he attended the school. And Danny's film, "Judas Kiss," is a finalist in the competition Zach is judging. Zach's film, also "Judas Kiss," won the festival years before. As Zach scrambles for answers, a mysterious, chain-smoking campus tour guide, counsels him: "Change the kid's past, change your future." But how?
It's easy to admire "Judas Kiss" for its ambition to be original. It's another thing to actually sit through it. Attempting to avoid the pitfalls and clichés of gay cinema, "Judas Kiss" heads into a borderline sci-fi direction, often playing like the most sedate "Twilight Zone" episode of all time. Credit goes to screenwriters J.T. Tepnapa (who also directs) and Carlos Pedraza, who reveal a drive to juice up their work with strange occurrences and unexplained behavior, while pushing forward as a searing emotional experience concerning regret and sexual abuse. However, that's a heavy workload for such a modest movie, and the script's interest in magical realism is undone by half-baked characters and inconsistencies, keeping focus off the key elements of heartache Tepnapa and Pedraza hope will be strong enough to define the viewing experience.
Zachary Wells (Charlie David) is a defeated man coming to terms with his life of missed opportunities and fear. When his moviemaking friend has to leave the country in a hurry, Zachary is offered a chance to take over film festival judging duties at his alma mater, Keystone University. Returning to his old stomping grounds to interview students for a scholarship opportunity, Zachary is quickly humiliated by the experience, drowning his sorrows in the arms of undergrad Danny Reyes (Richard Harmon). Waking up the next morning, Zachary finally learns the identity of his one-night-stand, realizing that Danny is actually him from 15 years ago, before his career drove him to change his name and bottom out. With "Judas Kiss," an incendiary short film about sexual abuse, expected to win the festival, Danny's reputation is white-hot, finding his attention pulled between sensitive Chris (Sean Paul Lockhart) and opportunist Shane (Timo Descamps), while Zachary scrambles to figure out what's going on, exploring the magical event with help from knowing faculty members Mrs. Blossom (Laura Kenny) and Old Man Welds (Dale Bowers). Baffled, yet intrigued with this opportunity to correct old mistakes, Zachary looks to snap Danny back to reality, using secrets against himself to direct his past to a brighter future.
It's impossible to describe what type of movie "Judas Kiss" is, and I'm not convinced even the production knows exactly what it wants to be. Accepted with one eye closed, and it's a time travel picture finding Zachary zapped back to the year 1996, encountering his past self without even realizing it at first. So much so, that he engages in sex with himself, and the feature never really mentions that substantial event again, brushing it aside despite all the juicy connotations of such a curious act. Tepnapa isn't that adventurous.
Instead of inspecting the obvious oddity onscreen, "Judas Kiss" keeps Zachary unconvincingly bewildered with the time jump itself, treating the development with minimal panic. As a viewer, it's impossible to understand the rules in play here, with vague visual clues (magical items and a clock tower shimmer on occasion, signifying wizardry afoot) failing to explain the true expanse of Zachary's quandary, while Mrs. Blossom and Old Man Welds appear to be aware of the visit from 2011 for reasons unknown. Nothing about the effort resembles 1996, with Zachary's cell phone in service and fashion kept modern, yet the film festival uses VHS tapes to screen movies, which weirdly doesn't trigger even the slightest bit of curiosity from the lead character. "Judas Kiss" didn't have to be "Back to the Future," but it doesn't develop its premise in the least, leaving the most enticing element of the production incomplete, diluting its thematic intention.
The rest of "Judas Kiss" plays out like a solemn body-switching movie, as Zachary hopes to convince his younger self to avoid romantic and professional mistakes that will eventually lead him to ruin. While the acting is serviceable (David is strong in the lead role), melodrama eventually chokes out the spirit of the feature, while Harmon doesn't have much of a presence as Danny, leaving the movie's relationship woes to asphyxiate slowly. There's also a subplot concerning Zachary's abusive father, who demands that the controversial student film (an effort that leaves Shane sweaty after his first viewing) be withdrawn, though, like everything else in the feature, little is understood about this relationship besides its rough edges. "Judas Kiss' also introduces a cheating scandal to muddy the waters, complicating the story further, and Danny finds protest from buddy and filmmaking partner Abbey (Julia Morizawa). Again, Tepnapa and Pedraza have amassed quite a pile of conflicts to sort through, but the struggle to connect all the pieces together in a meaningful manner ultimately undoes the endeavor.
The AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation generally leaves the viewing experience uninspiring. Banding, pixelation, and mild ghosting are an issue, along with noticeable pockets of noise. Colors are unexpectedly flat for an HD-shot production, finding skintones artificial in appearance, while costuming doesn't offer much heft, remaining relatively muted throughout. Shadow detail is murky, supplying feeble blacks, while low-light interactions are clotted. Fine detail manages to make a slight impression with close-ups, capturing a natural feel of skin on rare occasion, but softness dials down the intensity of the image, losing necessary textures.
The 2.0 Dolby Digital track has no authority whatsoever, sounding tinny and narrow as it works through admittedly mild acts of drama and fantasy. Thankfully, dialogue exchanges aren't lost, with verbal interplay easily understood. However, the depth of these voices is disappointing, coming off weightless. Soundtrack selections are numerous, but rarely achieve a supportive presence, while the beats of a few harder electronic tunes provides the track's only flirtation with an active low-end. It's a crude mix with no lift, maintaining survival mode by only preserving the basics.
For reasons unknown, there are four commentary tracks to choose from on the "Judas Kiss" BD, creating an instant feeling of overkill. The chats could've easily been braided into one rewarding conversation, but the disc's producers feel otherwise.
Commentary #1 with J.T. Tepnapa and co-writer/producer Carlos Pedraza should be the most rewarding track of them all, yet the participants are drinking throughout the discussion, leading to persistent joking and a general absence of an attention span. Some technical information manages to surface, but it's limited at best.
Commentary #2 with actor Charlie David promises more of a coffee date ambiance with the performer, who sets a casual mood, looking for screen elements to help trigger memories concerning the making of the movie.
Commentary #3 with actors Richard Harmon and Julia Morizawa carries more of a BFF tone, with the pair chatty but distracted, wandering into tepid banter instead of pointing out the details of the frame.
Commentary #4 with actor Sean Paul Lockhart, Tepnapa, and co-producer Jody Wheeler suffers from the worst sound quality while covering basically the same ground as the other three tracks.
Deleted Scenes (7:15, HD) run through basic characterization trims, yet the most interesting clips provided here concern time with Zachary's abusive father in flashbacks and present day. Also curious is a romantic moment between Zachary and Rebecca, introducing a bisexual urge to the lead character.
Behind the Scenes (42:16, HD) starts off on the wrong foot, commencing with platitudes and banal character investigations, articulated through rehearsed cast and crew interviews. Communicating themes and emotional intent is all well and good, but the real muscle here is in the BTS footage, which truly isolates the production experience, offering viewers a fly-on-the-wall peek at the making of the movie. Perhaps most interesting is an extended look at how the low-budget picture worked with 20 extras to create the illusion of a theater full of filmgoers for the finale.
"Like it Rough" (3:34, HD) is a music video with Timo Descamps.
"If I Fall" (3:17, HD) is another music video, this time setting a "Magnolia" mood with an in-character cast sing-along.
"Vampire Video" (6:48, HD) takes a BTS look at the making of a gruesome, blood-splattered short film featured in the movie.
"Alt Dorm Scene" (5:50, HD) showcases a slightly different take on a pivotal scene of confrontation, using PIP and commentary with editor Whitney Dunn to help compare the cuts.
"Judas Kiss" is an admirable failure with its genre-bending elements and quest to disturb the gay cinema norm, but it's far too messy and dimly scripted (comedy consists of a female character pronouncing her intent to defecate) to establish its mood of regret, while tinges of hope associated with the passion of second chances are equally surrendered to a confused ambiance of magic and mourning.
