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Released by: Code Red Releasing
Released on: September 8th, 2009.
Director: Jack Bravman
Cast: Fred Travalena, Gregory Calpakis, Flavia Carrozzi, Cynthia Mantel, Michael Sullivan
Year: 1990
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Night Of The Dribbler - Movie Review:
Jack Bravman, the man who directed Zombie Nightmare and who was one of the producers of Snuff is the genius behind Night Of The Dribbler, a kinda-sorta slasher comedy made in 1990 but never released... until now.
The, um, plot revolves around a basketball team called the Watergate Plumbers. Someone, somewhere has a grudge against these guys and has donned a basketball mask over his or her head and decided to start killing them off. The coach (Fred Travalena) doesn't seem too upset that members of his teaming are getting murdered, he just wants to win. But who could be responsible for the deaths? There are a few suspects - the water boy, his dad, members of other basketball teams, even the coach himself. By the time the bodies start piling up, it's entirely likely you won't care but there is a detective on the case (also played by Fred Travalena) out to solve the mystery.
Played entirely for laughs and pretty much entirely devoid of anything even remotely resembling atmosphere, suspense or scares this horror comedy hybrid is, to be blunt, a horrible film. It's poorly shot, the acting is awful, the jokes cornier than anything you can imagine and the effects are laughable. Obviously made for peanuts, this is the type of film that thinks it's funny to put an Elvis impersonator on a basketball team. From the goofy looking opening animation sequence that feels entirely out of place with the rest of the film to the predictable and simply stupid conclusion, this is one of the flat out unfunniest comedies I've ever had to sit through.
The film does have some cult value, however, and not just because Travalena is in it and not just because Jack Brayman directed it. It's pretty safe to say that there isn't anything else out there like Night Of The Dribbler. This is definitely a film in class of its own and while it's not a good class, if nothing else it stands out for how completely bad it is. On top of that, the killer's basketball mask is kind of interesting from a visual perspective. He's not particularly creepy looking but his appearance is certainly odd. Throw in a random appearance from a basketball player with a claw for a hand and a mad doctor voice for no apparent reason and, well, the movie still sucks. There's really no way around that fact.
Throughout all of this, you get the impression that the filmmakers thought they were making some serious comedy gold with this picture but you can't help walking away from it feeling bad for Travalena, who mentions in the commentary that the film was originally meant to be a more traditional slasher, but which he had moral issues with appearing in. As such, the project was regeared to be a more harmless comedy in order to secure his involvement. Travalena has some comedic talent, you can hear it on his commentary work and if you've seen him on TV over the years, you'll likely agree. Here, however, it's all put to waste. The man is given three roles and is essentially the star of the film but his work is all for naught, as the site gags and bad puns just are not funny. Goofy accents and pompadour wigs can't cover up bad writing and you can't cover up the film's deficiencies no matter how many Batman style POW BANG WHIZ sound effect gags you throw into the movie.
Slasher fans won't enjoy this because there are no scares and the movie is almost entirely devoid of carnage and completely devoid of nudity. Comedy fans won't like this because it isn't funny. Who does that leave? Who else is this movie supposed to appeal to? The pacing stinks, it's padded with countless scenes of bad athletes playing basketball, and... wow. Just wow.
Night Of The Dribbler - DVD Review:
Night Of The Dribbler looks okay in this 1.33.1 fullframe transfer that we can probably assume is the film's original aspect ratio. Not surprisingly, the image is a bit soft throughout but color reproduction fares better than you'd probably guess. Detail is about average for an almost twenty year old low budget film but the progressive scan transfer shows only mild and sporadic print damage and is surprisingly clean looking for such an obscure film. There's a mild coat of grain, mostly noticeable in darker scenes, but otherwise the image isn't bad at all, considering it's tape sourced.
The English language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track doesn't have a whole lot of channel separation going on but with a few minor exceptions it's clean and clear throughout. A few scenes are a bit on the flat side and there occasional moments of muffled dialogue but these are few and far between. No alternate language tracks or subtitles are offered.
The main extra on this disc is a commentary track with actor Fred Travalena moderated by Scott Spiegel, and Marc Edward Hueck. Travalena, who played three different parts in the film, shares what he can about making this film but a lot of time is spent rightfully making fun of the picture. The sense of humor behind the track is a good one and anyone who remembers Hueck from the far too short lived Beat The Geeks show knows he can be pretty sarcastic when he wants to, as such, he's a good choice to moderate this discussion. Travalena talks about some of the people who he worked with on the project, discusses some of the locations, and generally just seems to be having a good time here as he waxes poetic about just what went wrong with this film. Sadly, Travalena passed away last year.
Also included is a quick six minute interview with actor George Thomas who played the Elvis inspired basketball player in the film. He speaks about his work on the film and talks about how he feels about it all. Rounding out the extras are trailers for a few other Code Red release - Cheerleaders Wild Weekend, Devil's Express, Stunt Rock, Weekend Murders, The Internecine Project and Rituals - some menus, and chapter selection. Not a bad selection of bonus material, really, and it's fairly surprising that there are any extras on this disc at all.
Night Of The Dribbler - The Final Word:
A complete and utter train wreck of a film, Night Of The Dribbler is horrible in every possible way. That said, it's so completely, utterly bad that it's got a sort of misguided and inexplicable charm. It's hard to say what inspired Code Red to release this after it'd been sitting in a vault somewhere for the better part of twenty years, but here it is in nice shape and with some decent extras. It's impossible to imagine there's much demand for it, but cult films who appreciate the worst of the worst might get a kick out of it. If you fall into that category, give it a shot with a rental. Otherwise, keep on looking..., you've got to be a real glutton for punishment to enjoy this one.
