Straight To Hell

Straight To Hell is a 1987 quirky yet appealing curio, directed by British cult favorite Alex Cox, known for his iconoclastic and independent spirit in filmmaking. The film offers a unique blend of satire, action, and dark humor with a spaghetti western style backdrop and stars Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer, and Dick Rude among a diverse and enigmatic ensemble cast.

The movie's primary plot revolves around three ill-fated criminals, played by Sy Richardson, Joe Strummer (the frontman of punk rock group The Clash), and Dick Rude. Just off a successful bank heist, they encounter a problem that hit men often have to face: the violation of trust. On the run after a double-cross, the trio finds themselves in the vast and desolate Southwestern desert, more specifically, in a derelict town.

Straight To Hell is a pastiche of the so-called "spaghetti westerns" - a unique sub-genre that was popular during the 1960s and 1970s, and made famous by directors like Sergio Leone. Yet, the film doesn't stick to the norms of traditional genre filmmaking. It toys with the conventions of the western narrative, the hero, and villain dichotomy, providing the audiences with sudden and unexpected bouts of black humor and social commentary.

The town, which serves as the pivotal location, is populated by a crew of colorful, bizarre, and somewhat terrifyingly strange characters, that further amplify the eccentricity of the narrative. Throw in a coffee-addicted gang of outlaws, and you have a recipe for chaos, confusion, and nonstop action. Even though it's set in a typical frontier town, an emblem of western genre, Straight to Hell veers off in tonality, adopting a grotesque, exaggerated depiction of violence and treachery.

As the plot unfolds, viewers are introduced to the trio's surreal world of bickering villains, where the bad guys are not just wicked, but bear an element of slapstick goofiness. The line between the good, the bad and the ugly blurs, painting a satirical, grim display of human follies and aggression.

Cameos by musician icons like Elvis Costello and members of the Pogues, as well as Hollywood cult figure Dennis Hopper, add another layer of idiosyncrasy to the film. The soundtrack, interspersed with punk and rock n' roll hits, lurks in the backdrop and elevates the manifold eccentricities the film encompasses.

What sets Straight to Hell apart is its bold experimentation, not just with the narrative, but also in its editing and visual style. The storytelling is nonlinear, and Cox makes use of rapid cuts, exaggerated sound effects, and unconventional camera angles to create a disorienting, almost dreamlike ambiance. The arid desert landscapes shot in Almeria, Spain, provide a stark, dystopian backdrop to the anarchy unfolding in the foreground.

The performances are another highlight of the film. Strummer, though principally a musician, turns in a surprisingly apt performance as one of the bickering baddies. Richardson puts in a convincingly hard-edged performance, while Rude brings a unique energy and fervor to his role.

Straight To Hell is a departure from mainstream cinema. It's a film that could be perceived as an acquired taste, catering to a specific audience who enjoy unconventional storytelling, dry humor fused with action, and have an appreciation for the rebelliously creative spirit. As such, it has over time garnered a cult following, and remains a point of interest for fans of the leading cast, punk rock enthusiasts, and appreciators of indie and alternative cinema.

In a nutshell, Straight To Hell is not just a movie, but a cinematic experience. For the fans of the western genre, it flips expectations and paves an erratic path into a world of constant surprises. For the uninitiated, it serves a colorful platter of chaos and carnage, frothed with black comedy and non-stop action. It's about three gangsters, the classic scenario of trust violated among thieves, and a town too absurd to be true. A film that thrives in its pandemonium, Straight To Hell is a ride into the peculiar, with its unconventional narrative techniques, offbeat humor, and distinctive cast. It's an outlandish oddball of a movie that truly embodies the saying, "it's so bad, it's good".