Acne (2000) User Reviews

Bad Movie, Great Director

[afullmer · 3/10 · 24 June 2006]

First things first. This movie is clearly done in a style in which bad acting and a bad script are over dramatized to create a potential cult classic. The problem is it's just too annoying to enjoy. The acting comes across as something from an elementary school production, and the script seems like it was written by several people who didn't collaborate. Granted, the movie was made over four years, and its easy to lose track of what you are doing. The budget of $20,000 wouldn't do anyone justice, and that $20,000 didn't even come all at once, so I understand the problems. Not a great movie, but a lot of great directors had some rather questionable material come out of their first hours behind a camera.

That said, Rusty Nails is a great guy. I saw this movie at a film festival that he hosted. He's a witty, funny guy and doesn't strike you as a person who makes bad movies. He can hold his own in front of an audience. I really want to say, judge this movie, not its maker.

Who do I talk to to get the that 72 mins of my life back?

[davidwschrader · 16 May 2004]

Wow, what a really disappointing movie. I appreciated the attempt that this amateurish director/writer was attempting to convey with the grainy B&W film stock and 50's style scoring but that is where the appreciation stops. This movie has too many silly sub-plots with characters you do not know or care about. The main plot of the movie is about a "oil like spill" that affects a small town water supply and changes only teenagers into oozing zitheads with a insane taste for all things greasy and chocolate.

It had a few moments to enjoy but they were brief and all too fleeting. Rusty did capture the B&W B movie genre theme but was unable to deliver a coherent story or likable characters. The editing was choppy and there was a complete lack of character development. It seems he had some inside jokes going on amongst the cast however he forgot to let us in on the humor or the joke itself.

I saw this movie because I was forced to endure it to see a much better movie directly afterward. If this is any indication the director himself, Rusty Nails was there to present this opus and the best he could say about it was, "Well, you know how you put the sh*tty band on first, well consider this the sh*tty band." Rusty I agree this was the sh*tty band and thank God George Romero showed up to the film festival to screen Night Of The Living Dead afterward or I am sure you would have had a small riot on your hands. Note to writer/director Rusty Nails; Keep up the good fight and better luck in the future.

S10 Reviews: Acne (2000)

[suspiria10 · 2/10 · 24 March 2007]

Two teens wake up ready to go on a class field trip. Along the way one of them drinks contaminated water and they both become zit-zombies. They can only eat chocolate and the disease only affects teenagers. The infected teens gather together and hatch the devious plan to travel to Hershey, Pennsylvania to contaminate the country's chocolate supply and dawn the remaining populace a zit-juice dripping existence.

This screwball punk rock black and white comedy is some kind of bad. To be blunt I think I'd need to be on dope or something to get a kick out of this one. You got to give the actors credit for walking around the entire production (and I use that term loosely) with burst zit appliances on their heads. The music ain't half bad though.

What a waste of time

[wtwlby · 1/10 · 17 August 2006]

Wait a second. Who is it that likes this movie? I rented it for a movie night with friends because I was intrigued by the teens shooting lazers out of their eyes in the picture. I also liked the description of the zitheads terrorizing the area. There were no lazer beams anywhere. And the teens didn't terrorize anyone, they more or less bumbled around like they were lost with no plan. The acting was horrific and I have seen second grade productions that had better acting in them. The plot was weird and hard to follow because it didn't make coherent sense. Characters were not developed, there were only 7 or so zitheads when it said that they turn many into zitheads (7 is not many. An entire high school would have been many) Oh, and they didn't even try to make-up over their skull caps, so it was ridiculously obvious that it was fake. In general, the movie was lame. So, save your money and time and get a decent movie.

What happened to 0 stars???

[cyclone259 · 1/10 · 30 May 2007]

This arrived at my house through Blockbuster, although I never remember choosing the title.

"What the heck? I'll give it a try," I thought. I like b-movies, horror films and most anything by independent production companies. First of all, the movie was completely disjointed and flowed like a stopped-up septic tank. The acting was trifling, which is OK most of the time, but it made no sense. I wish there was something I could defend about the film, but I had to turn it off 30 minutes or so into it.

The subject matter didn't bother me in the least and I can certainly appreciate inventiveness and shock value when done well. The crappy, bald skull caps with zit attachments were actually a distraction. Of course defenders of this film will say "You just don't get it" or "You couldn't do any better." To the "I couldn't do any better" crowd they're probably right, but I don't have to. I'm not a filmmaker, nor do I pass myself off as one.

For those who enjoyed it, I'm glad they could find some value in "Acne" that I couldn't, after all diversity is what makes the world go 'round.

A Cinematic Failure.

[cmcguire-5 · 1/10 · 6 March 2010]

Sadly, I was subjected to this film not too long ago. It was truly a wretched example of film making, and better serves as a cautionary tale to young film-makers everywhere. The acting was very poor, leading one to believe that perhaps the creator's friends were used in production, rather than Ms. Simmon's third grade class, but the difference is negligible.

It's very easy to see that this "film" is a poor attempt at creating a cult classic, utterly failing at creating a cohesive storyline, failing again at actually entertaining viewers, and really, cannot be considered to be much more than simple at best; It attempts to weave a lacking storyline, an attempt to look as a "B movie" would look, and a lot of popular music from the punk genre; simple anthems, in an obvious attempt to create a movie that would possibly catch on and elevate this film maker to some sort of status of which nothing but a miserable failure has occurred.

In any case, please do yourself a favor, and avoid this blunder. Otherwise, you're in for a treat of nothing more than a couple of poor actors with disproportionate pimples on their heads, as the cover dictates, music from a punk sampler, and poor-quality production values; which seem an attempt at irony; but is exactly what it is- poor values. Skip it, do not think of it a second time, and do not watch unless you have a motion sickness tablet handy.

Weird Surreal independent sci-fi/ horror flick

[face_of_terror · 6/10 · 17 December 2004]

This low-budget movie is a simple story about a bunch of teens who become mutated with big eels (acne) on their heads after drinking contaminated water. For a low budget project , acting in this movie is OK. Music is creepy and reminds some of Romero's "Night of The Living Dead" music score. The entire movie is shot in black & white , which adds some peculiarity to this independent Rusty Nails' flick (who also wrote , produced and starred in it). There are a few plot holes , and the movie is slow which is bad for 72 Min's of runtime. But bottom line is : this movie is weird but good. According to the budget they used , this flick is watchable. It could have been better though.

Endearingly Bizarre

[Humdinger69 · 8/10 · 28 August 2013]

I would like to point out that this is a lot better than some of the other reviews on here would suggest (at least in my opinion), it's just really, really weird.

The plot is that two kids, Zoe (Rusty Nails) and Frannie (Tracey Hayes), are about to go on a school trip when Zoe drinks contaminated water, turning his head into a giant zit, and then infects Frannie, and they go around teaming up with other people with the same problem and hatch a plan to contaminate the towns water supply to make everyone else like them (i think). They can't eat normal anymore, instead they have to rub oily, buttery, melty foods on their heads like chocolate and popcorn, and doing this turns them into mindless zombies (temporarily), and this is all the result of a greedy businessman's plan to sell more of his chocolates.

Right from the very beginning of the movie it's made clear that it's trying to replicate the look and feel of really old black-and-white drive-in monster movies, and fittingly, the movie is very cheesy, featuring some less-than-stellar dialogue and so-so acting.

And if the plot itself isn't weird enough, there are some genuinely bizarre fake trailer/music video segments at the beginning of the movie and after the credits, and a short but strange movie-within-a-movie at a theater.

Recommended for lovers of bizarre horror movies. 8 out of 10.

A Tedious and Boring film.

[lcf02139 · 19 October 2003]

I and 6 others in the theater had to sit through over one hour of the most tedioius film ever made. It was devoid of any entertainment value or plot due to it's sheer stupidity. A dreadful film with poor acting ability. A truly monotonous viewing experience. Avoid at all costs.

Touching in an unusual way... and ridiculous

[gerarddepardont · 10/10 · 19 July 2005]

First of all, my son brought this movie home and said that I would like it because there are songs by the Dead Kennedys and Devo - these are two bands that we both love. The cover art had a very interesting retro 50's look that also made me inquisitive. We put the movie in and saw one of most ridiculous, unreal and somehow touching movies I'd seen in a while. I don't know how Rusty Nails (the director) managed to mix film noir, horror and science fiction and make it all fit together into a workable, though experimental film, but I liked it. There are definitely some gross moments in the film but they're not mean spirited - more just gross out humor - though more funny than gross. The soundtrack and score were terrific mixing punk rock and an intense symphonic score... again - very interest but it works. A movie that a punk rock kid and a rock and roll dad can love. Bravo Mr. Nails Good Job!

The best indy sci-fi horror film in a long long time.

[chuckmiller1 · 4 February 2004]

I just checked out Acne and it BLEW ME AWAY!!! It's this crazy story of New Jersey teens turned into zitheads (their heads become big zits after drinking oily water) who run amok along the East Coast. This movie has it all!! Great low budget effects, good acting, intelligent and goofy humor, and a killer soundtrack. It's also one of the few indy films I've seen in a long time that doesn't try to pander to the mainstream - the jokes and metaphors are like a stealth missle aimed at the head of the government and big business. Do yourself a favor and hunt this movie down.

ACNE is wild and great! A truly cool freaky movie!

[jenniferhots · 10/10 · 27 June 2005]

I saw a great review of this film a couple of weeks ago when it played in Portland and I thought I would give the film a go... I was a little put off when I heard the director's name was Rusty Nails - a bit odd - but it didn't take long for the film to drag me into a very strange and creepy otherworld that unfortunately looked very much like the America we live in today. I'm a bit of a music fan and I really loved the Devo and Dead Kennedys songs as well as the original 50's style score. The film really defies any kind of categorizing... it's a mixture of many genres - comedy, film noir, horror, science fiction and something all of itself - which was refreshing because the film defied expectations. It's not often that a movie can hold down so many styles for such a small budget... the director (who was quite nice and intelligent) was there and mentioned that the film cost a mere $18,000. I can believe that he made this film for that little money - shot on film - fantastic. This film isn't for everyone - it does get a bit gross - which I loved - but you may not - though it isn't quite as gross as listening to a George W. Bush speech. I hear Rusty is currently doing something with George Romero (Land of the Dead) - that should be interesting.

Surreal, scary, funny and intelligent - what more could I ask for?!!

[karen_carson · 8 October 2004]

First of all, let me just say, I had no idea what ACNE was going to be about when my friend bought a copy of the film, which he bought from Facets, to my house. I was reluctant to watch the piece - due to the title and the box art... which I now realize is fantastic. We put the movie in the DVD player and were completely perplexed by the weirdness displayed on the television... teenagers whose heads become huge pustules due to military and corporate deviousness - I know - it sounds silly but the film (with many fantastical/sci-fi/fantasy moments) depicts a lot of what is messed up with the government and big businesses that we deal with in our daily lives. I've heard it said that genre films are one of the few places filmmakers get the chance to fully expose the hypocrisy of American society... ACNE lays it all on the line without holding anything back. The extras on the DVD were just extra icing to an already sweet package!!

There is a wicked commentary about the making of the film and all the disasters that occurred - as well as four excellent short films and music videos... kudos to the director Rusty Nails for showing the indy film world how to make a real movie!!!

This movie is from the Planet Awesome!

[tailoredtomike · 10/10 · 18 July 2005]

Say what you like about a good independent movie or a good b-movie but to me, a good film like ACNE, beats a decent $80 million dollar film every time. Yes, the acting isn't as professional with this film, but that adds a certain realism. Yes, the sets aren't always picture perfect but whose house or office is? ACNE is a horror movie for 2005 and beyond. The threats to the main characters are as real as what people face everyday around our planet. Pollution, exploitation, manipulation, false promises, disease and disfigurement but it does so with a twisted black comic heart and believe me, you're going to laugh (with the movie).

A movie that puts weirdness to a head.

[jessicanumbers1 · 10/10 · 18 July 2005]

I just bought this 2005 released film ACNE from Go Kart Films on a whim and it charmed the pants off of me! What fun! What creativity and wild energy! The movie is about so many things: Political Corruption, America's hypocritical puritanical stances on everything, anti-drugs legislation, sugar as the opium for the masses... you name it.

More than anything... the movie is about old fashioned thrills, suspense, clever ideas and making the audience think while laughing. No doubt the film is truly silly and in no way believable - but once you suspend your disbelief and unbutton your shirt - ACNE really kicks in. I don't want to wreck too much of the plot - I hate when reviews do that. Let me just say - I've been waiting for a bizarre independent film with horror and science fiction elements to come my way for a good while...

Note to the viewing public - this film has a very small budget - do not expect Hollywood style sets or slickness. From what I've read about ACNE - it cost $18,000 and was shot on film (amazing). So don't expect massive production values because you'll be cheating yourself and the film - buy ACNE wherever you get your hands on it.

Jessica

Crazy horror comedy independent low budget film.

[labrat_1976 · 11 September 2003]

When I went into the theater I had no idea what I was getting into with this movie but by the time the end credits were rolling I had thoroughly enjoyed myself. Acne is like no other film I've seen before! It's a wild mixture of horror and comedy with A LOT of weird twists and turns along the way. The story is about a brother and sister, Franny and Zoe (go J.D. Salinger!!), whose heads become big zits and they roam the country recruiting teens and tormenting adults along the way. There are some definite gross out moments for the weak of stomach - but it's worth it!

A twisted Horror-Comedy-Conspiracy Spectacular!!

[billthedinosaur · 3 July 2004]

This is one of the strangest greatest weirdo films ever!! Kids turn into bizarre creatures through governmental plots and are let loose all along the East Coast. This movie defies all the usual wanna-be Hollywood independent film garbage and goes for the corporation jugular vein... Finally!! And to anyone who needs to be spoon fed and dragged along the same narrative structure for the 20 millionth time - think about how much you hate dreck like that. This movie takes chances that most indies wouldn't dream of!!

Teenagers turn into mutants by drinking oil infected water.

[dianacan_6 · 4 September 2003]

Wow! I can't believe how great this movie is!! I was in Seattle recently and I had the extreme pleasure of seeing this twisted, hilarious, smart as hell black and white horror comedy about a brother and sister who turn into monsters after drinking polluted water. Forget everything you ever knew about the horror or sci-fi genres - this movie throws all the rules out the window. The movie covers a million themes from conspiracy theories, to just say no to drugs propaganda, to femme fatales - with a pitch black tone. The director makes fun and pays loving tribute to all things B-movie. There are plenty of fun gross out effects as well as a really good soundtrack with bands like Devo, the Dead Kennedys, and an amazingly accurate 50's style score. I highly recommend this film.