STARRING
Alfred Guy, Paul R. Sieber, Alexandra Hewett, Heather Clark, Wayne Shipley, Jason Patrick Presson DIRECTED BY
Lee Doll SCREENPLAY
Alfred Guy MPAA RATING
NR RUNNING TIME
57 Mins. DISTRIBUTED BY
JBH Video
"Dangerous Deception - Tales of the Fixer" Review
Dangerous Deception - Tales of the Fixer is filmmaker Lee Doll's follow-up to the first volume in The Fixer films, The Power of Balance. At a mere 57 minutes in length, Dangerous Deception is definitely on the short end of what can be considered an actual feature film, however, Doll once again rides that fine line between actual film and late night television drama.
Doll's original film had a great old-fashioned 70's crime drama vibe, and Dangerous Deception serves up more of the same with less satisfying results than the first time around.
The Fixer (Paul R. Sieber) and Yeb-Beb (Alfred Guy) are the intended victims of the Cult of Nyarlathotep. The cult's leader, Nez (George Stover), has convinced a mysterious stranger (Are there ever non-mysterious strangers?) played by Jason Patrick Presson to join forces in an effort to unleash madness. The film weaves together magic, mysticism, a monster, fencing, fighting, foul-play and fits o' fun into its 57-minute running time.
The film is available on Lee Doll's website and includes a wealth of extras including "Open Mic Night at Trax on Wax," a music video, bloopers, promos and trailers. As Yeb-Beb, Alfred Guy is the film's highlight. Guy manages to nail the film's tone, successfully blending touches of cheese, action, thrills and appearing to have fun with it all. Guy, who also wrote the script, seems to understand that you can play cheesy without ever giving away that you're doing so intentionally. The rest of the cast is more hit-and-miss across the board, with some performances so over-the-top that they're almost "nails across a chalkboard" irritating. It doesn't help that the film's soundtrack is low-budget 70's soul from teen pop singer Louanna Lee that you might expect from the nightclub where Huggy Bear hangs out all day.
Paul R. Sieber takes over as The Fixer, and while he's generally fine he lacks the gritty believability possessed by The Power of Balance's Brian St. August. Those who've returned from the previous film generally feel a lot more comfortable within the vibe of the film, while most of the newcomers are just a step off the pace.
For more information on Dangerous Deception - Tales of The Fixer, visit the Lee Doll website.
