You gotta love Mr Hauser. He's one of my favorite actors, and now he's turn to directing, it would seem, while he also co wrote the ambitious violent flick, No Safe Haven, years earlier, which wasn't a bad flick either. Here, he's experimented and dabbled in an excitingly violent and sleazy manner with this film, that sees some budding and aspiring actors/actresses, some real beauties, die at the hands of two homosexual sicko's, parading as film makers in the city of broken dreams. The would be actors, re enact death/murder scenes from classic movies, whether Deer Hunter, Psycho, Scarface (one sickeningly violent chainsaw scene here), of course, unaware, it's for real. Hauser plays a cop with a soft heart, dating one sexy woman, where we're granted some real tasty making out/sex scenes, where the viewer can't help feel envious. One early sex scene, of course, seems spawned by 9 And A Half Weeks. Sexy Kinmont (Hauser's girlfriend here) another actress used as eye candy, is not the only beauty in this either. Hauser becomes a one man vendetta, unleashing a personal hatred for one of the lowlife, pimp/pornographers, named Latin Jerry, stylish huh. It's after a budding beauty, very close to him, who he tried to get out of the city, returns and becomes as what he terms, just another statistic on the homicide bureau. TAOD is classy, original, and slick, but one can't overlook, not just the sleaziness, but the sickening themes in it, violence a strong attribute. Hauser is Hauser, who sometimes had me laughing the lines he was given. He delivers a human and very real performance, where he had me truly believing him. More so the performance that really struck (the older head sicko was good) but was that of Michael J Pollard as the veteran social worker/pscyhe cop, Delbert. I really couldn't narrow it down to one occupation, it was really hard to pinpoint who he was. It's just the one performance that stays with me. TAOD is entertaining all through, with an explosive, if shocking start, where a partner squabble doesn't go the way you think. Hauser has an ambitious vehicle, and I like the originality of the film, as much as I like the film itself, with some classic and admirable touches and attachments. But as you know, with quality in film, sleaze, and sickening themes, aren't real positives. One unpredictable moment, I loved and was impressed by, was Hauser's sexy home invasion, that first return home, by a disgruntled and avenging party of a brother, Hauser killed.

Jack (Wings) is an L.A. Vice detective who plays by his own rules. Sure, he does what he wants when he wants, but he always helps the teenage runaways who come to town. He develops an especially soft spot for Janet (Warner), a 16 year old girl who has come to Hollywood to be a star. However, something sinister is brewing in tinseltown. A psychotic filmmaker named Roscoe (Werntz) and his assistant, a man by the name of Latin Jerry (Hara) are luring aspiring actors into their studio. They then recreate famous death scenes from movies such as The Deer Hunter (1978), Psycho (1960) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974), but they do it for real! Roscoe even claims directors like Cimino, DePalma, Scorsese and Hitchcock are just fakes, and he's the real thing. When Janet gets mixed up in this world - as does his gal-pal Holly (Kinmont) - Jack goes rogue to take down the nefarious filmmakers. That's after he's suspended from the force, of course. Will anyone actually see the ART OF DYING? This is Wings' third directorial effort, after Coldfire (1990) and Living To Die (1990). And while PM movies are known for showing the seamier side of L.A., here they go all out and portray it at its seamiest - nothing more than a trap to ensnare young people who don't know any better into a horrible life, or even death. Wings, as Jack, a man who's struggling against the tide of filth to help the kids, is his usual charismatic self, and the relationship issues he has with Kinmont allow for some good interplay between them. It's nice to see Kinmont in a non-Lamas-supporting role. She works very well with Wings who controls this dark thriller (it's not really an action movie per se) quite well.Backing Wings and Kinmont up are a nice cast of supporters: Sarah Douglas of Steele Justice (1987) fame plays Wings' fellow cop who seems to have a crush on him, Sydney Lassick has a bit part as a roadside cafe owner, and last but not least is Michael J. Pollard, who brings his weird mush-mouthiness and strange affect to the role of some kind of police psychologist named Delbert. It seems to fit.Seeing as The Art of Dying has a "movie within a movie" theme, as well as its meditations on the concept of the snuff film, while it probably wasn't influenced too much by Snuff (1976), it does seem to have Michael Powell's Peeping Tom (1960) in mind. Regardless, AOD truly was the 8mm (1999) of its day. To relate it back to movies discussed here on this site, the plot is really very similar to King of the Kickboxers (1990), in the idea that it lures unsuspecting actors into their death on film. To add another layer of "meta", if I may, Wings passes a movie marquee playing the movie Misery (1990). So there's a lot of layers here.While the movie can be a tad bit unfocused at times, dealing with bunch of different issues and characters right from the jump, and it moves at what would be considered a slower pace than the kids of today are used to (but who cares about those stupid little punks anyway), it's all worth it when Wings is suspended from the force by a perfect BYC (Ring of Steel's Brown), and he spends his days at the beach wearing a nice trenchcoat/bathing suit combo with sunglasses, and feeding a rabbit tequila! Isn't that what you would do if you were kicked off the force? It wouldn't be a Wings-directed PM movie without a sax-drenched soundtrack, and The Art of Dying doesn't disappoint. It underlines the seedy elements at work. This whole movie screams "Cinemax in the 90's", what with its overall smutty/sexy/steamy tone or whatever you want to call it. But it has some nice ideas at work, a very good cast, and Wings in top form. To see Wings doing what he does best, check out The Art of Dying.For more action insanity, please visit: www.comeuppancereviews.com

Wings Hauser is in full "Dirty Harry" mode, not respecting his superiors, getting himself suspended, putting his partners welfare last, and apprehending criminals while breaking every police rule in the book. The basic story involves two gay freaks who turn acting parts into body parts, luring innocent would be actors and actresses into their snuff film. "The Art of Dying" certainly has a high sleaze factor, but the story is marginal at best. Although Hauser's ego is constantly being stroked with numerous sex scenes, much of the film lacks the action necessary to move things forward. There are a few moments of humor, such as when Wings tells his girlfriend "You're like a one night stand that never goes away." Not bad of it's type. - MERK

It's far from being a classic, but there is something undeniably engrossing about The Art of Dying. It's an extremely violent film with an excellent, jazzy score by John Gonzalez and some decent and atmospheric cinematography. It's also a right wing fantasy writ large: here is the film that ties 'the gay agenda' and the fictional world of snuff movies together. Connect the dots: a gay couple are luring innocent young Americans into their web of murder and deceit, selling them a bill of goods about fame and fortune that end in their violent and bloody deaths. Add in star Wings Hauser's reverse racism rant to his African-American commander ("you're a racist asshole!") and a copious assortment of bared breasts and simulated straight sex, and you have a film which will have red-blooded hetero white American males pumping their fists in the air.