Fried Barry

Don't know quite how to talk about Fried Barry, a new scifi/comedy/horror from South Africa that's now available on Shudder. It's the kind of film where you'd need to give yourself a good scrub after you watch it. Preferably with Ajax and a brillo pad. I saw it 3 days ago and aspects of it are still bothering me. That can only be a good thing......right?

Imagine Bad Boy Bubby crossed with Adam & Paul but only if Adam wasn't there and Paul had been kidnapped by aliens, had his erection probed (yeah, we see it all) and been taken over by something with otherworldly powers. Afterwards he's let loose on the streets of Cape Town where despite his unnerving appearance he's a magnet for everyone. Everybody he meets wants to get to know him, to shag him, everyone else wants to lash drugs into him. There's an alien presence inhabiting his body and it gets to experience every aspect of humanity, the good parts, the bad parts and the truly ugly parts.

Jesus. This was something. Built off a short movie writer/director Ryan Kruger made a few years back this one is as unique as films come. It's destined to be a cult classic but it's one that will appall and offend a lot of people. Everything is in the mix here, graphic drug abuse, nasty violence, hardcore pornography, race, class, culture, none of it commented on in anyway other than with blunt force. It feels aimless as vignette follows vignette, each one odder than the last, some full of nightmare fuel imagery and streaked with a type of body horror that makes David Cronenberg films feel tame and others about the sneaky methods people use to fuck shops over. You'll feel baffled and agitated and then slowly, it starts to coalesce, a story takes form, the leading character who came off as a rotten piece of shit in the first 5 minutes of the film starts to turn into something.....well you'll have to watch it yourself to find out.

Chainsaws though. Damn.

Gary Greene as Barry turns in a hell of a performance playing a man you'd cross not only a street but a whole town to avoid. Even before his extra terrestrial run-in Barry isn't exactly human, more a presence fuelled by heroin and hate. Greene's unusual look sells it beautifully, allowing his actions to speak much louder than the maybe a dozen words he utters through the film. It's a gifted physical performance too, reminiscent of Vincent D'Onofrio's turn in Men In Black. Awkward, juddering, like watching something getting used to a new way of moving, discovering dancing and lovin' (the second sex scene and it's aftermath will be the divisive moment for a lot of viewers). Through fresh eyes what many would consider normality looks absolutely terrifying.

Fresh eyes. Director Ryan Kruger's certainly got a pair of them. No doubt his vision will be spotted by the big boys, the studios looking for something new and exciting. We can only hope they don't dull his edges too much. I'm still not sure if I liked this film but christ I'll remember it for a while yet.

Fried Barry is streaming on Shudder now.