The Jar Deserves to Be Remastered
The Jar is a surreal low-budget horror film made in 1984. Very little is known about the production. We do know that it was made for around $200,000, it was shot in Colorado, it was written by George Bradley and directed by Bruce Toscano.
It's about a young man named Paul who saves an old man from a car wreck and takes him back home. Soon, the old man disappears, leaving behind an elusive jar wrapped in a brown paper bag. Paul opens up the bag, revealing a small, mutant creature inside the jar.
From here on out, Paul begins having strange hallucinations, like seeing his bathtub fill up with blood before a little boy surfaces, or ending up in 'Nam, shot in the nearest national park. The main actor plays out many of the prerequisites of low-budget art films, like being crucified and exposing his junk. It seems that Toscano may have hoped to recapture some of that Eraserhead magic. Then again, one of the best ways to frustrate a filmmaker who wants to do anything different and unorthodox is to compare him to David Lynch.
On the subject of the acting, it is some of the worst I’ve ever seen in a film, and I’ve seen a lot of trash at this point. All the actors across the board are awful. All the dialogue is re-recorded in post, and you would think having this second chance to recite the dialogue would allow the actors time to refine their performances. But nope, they all jump back and forth between stilted and hammy. Some of their facial expressions are overacting works of art.
The lead actor Gary Wallace discussed the film in an IMDb review. He said the film was shot in four weeks, two in the fall and two in the summer. Rarely were there any rehearsals or second takes.
"We would shoot from 5 or 6 am until it got dark, then go to the sound studio and dub until 1 or 2 am, then get up and shoot the next day."
"The director decided he didn't want the 60 hz signal so he could sync the recorded voices to the film, so he and his assistant ended up cutting little pieces of tape and splicing them together to at least try to make the sound match the movie."
Wallace gave the film four stars out of ten.
I would like to spread some awareness of this film. Currently, it is only somewhat remembered for being featured on an episode of RedLetterMedia's Best of the Worst series nearly a decade ago, where it was declared "one of the worst things we've ever watched."
I would like to cut it a little more slack. Yes, it’s bad, but it certainly has some ambition. I think this could garner a potential cult following if it were presented in a higher definition. At the moment, you can only find it on VHS, although the film was shot on Todd-AO 35MM, in a 16:9 ratio. You’ll often see the actors' faces cut off by the frame, particularly during a dinner sequence in the middle.
Toscano has some talent as a photographer. He uses bright colored lighting against stark shadows in a similar fashion to Mario Bava or Dario Argento. There's a particular monochromatic sequence shot under streetlights that looks quite nifty. The film also sports a memorable synth score by an elusive group known as Obscure Sighs, which has been alleged to be the director himself.
Perhaps if Vinegar Syndrome or the American Genre Film Archive or one of those boutique labels found an original 35MM print of this film and restored it to its proper format, it may breathe some new life into this forgotten relic of the video store boom.
I would like to thank all of the people that have followed me in the last three weeks since I published my article on Ten of the Worst Films I’ve Ever Seen, which seems to be steadily growing in popularity on this site. I hope all of you new readers will find my articles somewhat interesting or funny. The least I can do is introduce you to some strange relics of the past, and possibly a new favorite of yours. If you have any recommendations for films I should check out, feel free to let me know. Thank you for your support.
