A recent home video release from Osiris Entertainment, The Guzzo Brothers' Who I s Delsin is a "documentary" that finds itself listed as a "thriller" on the Osiris Entertainment website, a tip o' the hat that not quite everything is as its alleged to be. Of course, if you really go into a film featuring Troma's Lloyd Kaufman and Blair Witch Project's Gregg Hale expecting an actual documentary then you probably shouldn't watch the film without being medicated anyway. 

The story that comprises the film is that it examines the obsession of Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Gerard Martinez, a one-time acclaimed journalist who in 2009 walked into the Tampa Bay Museum of Art and opened fire resulting in the deaths of men, women and children before Martinez turned the gun on himself. In the days leading up to the murder, Martinez was said to be working on a documentary regarding an obsession of his - proving the existence of Mon Protecteur, a French superhero. This documentary contains footage that Martinez had obtained, interviews with Martinez's friends, family and colleagues, and an examination of the evidence in an effort to find out what really drove him over the edge. 

It would be hard not to admire director Pete Guzzo's consistency of tone and overall commitment to this unique project. Fans of Troma, including myself, will find pieces of Who I s Delsin to enjoy even if the film itself ultimately fails to satisfy in any of the ways that your typical Troma B-movie satisfies. Who I s Delsin isn't a particularly bad film, it's simply a film that never really grabs you and never really becomes engaging enough to sustain a viewer's attention for its 92-minute running time. There's a dryness to the film that almost entertains, but for the most part it's a film in search of a mission. 

Given the cast involved with the film, it seems like Who Is Delsin should have either gone into a darker and edgier realm or it should have really gone over-the-top with its dark comedy. Instead, the film plays out for the most part in a rather straightforward manner with even the film's inspired cameos mostly failing to click. 

© Written by Richard Propes 
The Independent Critic