I'll avoid the obvious critique of "this movie poo poos our society's tendency to glamorize serial killers while simultaneously glamorizing serial killers." A little hypocrisy now and again never hurt anyone and certainly never stopped a movie from being made. It does make a valid point: we do like to make our worst killers into celebrities.What does bother me is that this movie is not funny or suspenseful or scary. The only emotion this movie will make you feel is bored. The makers of this movie made it by formula, pulling every trick from every movie that everyone has seen and trying to pass it off as their own, as if a convenient bit of repackaging will make us forget where we saw that before. David Carradine: we saw The Omen. The whole movie: we saw Natural Born Killers.Bob Balaban gives this movie its only bright spot, playing a funny, overly earnest psychoanalytical goof who feels the pain of the killers.The movie doesn't suck, since there are movies that are much, much worse, but it doesn't entertain, either.3 out of ten.

I was walking through my local big-chain video rental place looking for something cool to watch. I come across a video box that says "David Carradine is THE MONSTER HUNTER." Sounded promising. The cover picture was of good IL' Mr. Carradine looking really cool in a black suit with sunglasses and holding a gun and there were pictures of demon-looking guys in wanted posters. It looked as though it was gonna be like a cheap Men In Black. I pick up the box and look at the back and the tag line reads "Evil Dead meets Natural Born Killers," and being a big Evil Dead head I liked the direction is was going. There was also a quote about the movie on the box. Generally they are something like "An Awesome Thrill Ride!!!" (more than one exclamation point is a must) and they are usually said by some film critic from a publication that you've never heard of. This one said "Great!" - Quentin Tarantino. This was another good sign because Quentin knows movies.Based on all of these things I thought it'd be a gory, low-budget, Buffy-meets-MIB flick. However it wasn't. The reality is that it is a comedy, half-mockumentary about a serial killer in an East Texas town. Carradine is less of a bad ass and more of a half-crazed rogue FBI agent who can see the "demon" inside serial killers and their victims. The real star of the film is Michael Bowen who plays Willie the serial killer and does a phenomenal job in making him a somewhat sympathetic character in a film where you really feel sorry for no one. However, once I got over the fact that the box was lying, I really enjoyed the silliness of this film. Nothing like the Evil Dead and only kind of like Natural Born Killers, The Monster Hunter (or Natural Selection as I came to find was the real title) is a funny little low-budget movie. As long as you know the truth of the movie's premise then you should enjoy it.

I saw this late at night recently on premium cable, and I got more amusement from it than from any of the top moneymakers of 2002. Is it me? I guess. Maybe my brain's been rotted by one too many formulaic thrillers and vacuous big-budget special effects extravaganzas. At any rate, five minutes in it was obvious this was my kind of movie. It has that spark.The bad news first: David Carradine sucks. Fortunately he's only in a small part of it, in spite of top billing. And, ok, some other subpar acting, but not by the main characters. Some of the 'real' characters (in the parallel documentary movie w/i a movie) are bad actors, but in a way this is covered by the fact that they're supposed to be real people put on camera -- so hey, wouldn't you be a bit stiff?The good news. The script is so witty and multi-leveled you wouldn't mind reading it. You want to savor this stuff, there's so little of it around. These writers are funny.Since there are alot of great characters, I want to credit them. (Not that many people are likely to read this.) I particularly enjoyed Bob Balaban's seemingly off-the-cuff performance as the smarmy, BS'ing and yet bestselling psychologist -- speculating for the camera on why serial killers kill. Maybe there's a prototype for this character somewhere, but to me it was deliciously original. Darren Burrows I loved as the wacky and cheery young guy who has unusual ambitions. And Joe Unger as the morose local yokel cop who get's the case (and hot tuna surprise in the face) but who gives as good as he gets: Asked the eternal question by the documentary crew about why serial killers kill, he remarks without emphasis: "I don't know, I never thought about it until I met you guys." (Or something like that.)The whole movie is rife with this kind of understated humor. It's great.BTW, if you're into this intellectually perverse, low budget, twisted but not sick kind of black humor, check out these other underrated gems: Eating Raoul, TerrorVision, Re-animator, $lasher$, and The Evil Dead.

WARNING - CERTAIN PLOT LINES MAY BE REVEALED IN THESE COMMENTS.A few weeks ago, I attended an advance screening of NATURAL SELECTION. As key grip on the picture, my comments may seem rather slanted, but I feel compelled to share a few thoughts. I shall make every attempt to be objective.With a quirky, provocative script by BJ Burrow and Allen Odom as his foundation, Bristol has built a crafty film. Even though I was on the crew and watched the scenes as they were being shot, I shall have to watch the final cut several times before I catch all of the surprises that the film offers. It moves along at a brisk pace, and takes us on a wild ride.In a nutshell, NATURAL SELECTION is a story of boy meets serial killer, boy copies serial killer, cop stalks serial killer, and all hell breaks loose in every conceivable direction.NATURAL SELECTION wrung from me many different reactions as I watched the story unfold before me. A moment after laughing hysterically at one of the film's many moments of curious comedy, I would find myself jumping involuntarily at one of its startling little twists.The story revolves around a faux TV documentary which follows a series of killings by Bowen's character, "Willie," and its impact on a small town.The body of the film chronicles the changes that are inflicted upon the town and its people under the focus of the media.One of the most compelling moments is a pivotal scene between Bowen and Carradine, in the seedy little motel where Carradine's character, an FBI agent gone over the edge, eventually meets his end. The dichotomy between these two actors - half brothers, incidentally - is palpable.After the chilling scene in which Carradine's "Dehoven" character is brutally killed, actress Laura House whips us right back into laughter mode. As the motel's housekeeper, she basks in second-hand fame before the camera of the "documentary" crew and leaves the audience with the guilty pleasure of another good howl.As Dehoven, Carradine demonstrates his skills as one of the great Hollywood journeymen. Throughout the film, I was torn between pity for Dehoven's delusional existence, and biting myself in the lip to keep from laughing at the poor guy's Oliver Hardy-like awkwardness as he shadows Willie. One moment the stammering nebbish, the obsessed predator the next, Dehoven is a joy to watch.Known for years as "Ed," the young Indian filmmaker in "Northern Exposure," Darren Burrows turns in a riveting portrayal as a small-town guy, transformed by the media attention that the killings have brought to his little berg. He explodes from one emotion to another with chilling fluidity and, with Bowen, emotes both rail-gripping terror and side-busting laughter during their final confrontation.The lynch pin of the cast is Detective Richards, played by Joe Unger. Richards is the gruff, jaded cop, numbed by a career full of murder investigations, and a downright snarling contempt of the media. With a matter-of-fact take on the situation, punctuated by several well-chosen expletives, we follow this tough-ass cop through the "documentary" and the body of the film as he pulls the story together.The "TV documentary" is where cameos by such talent as Root, Balaban and Laura House really shine. These performances are beyond excellent as they lead us through the maze and deliver us to its unexpected exit. Root, in particular, is captivating as the father of one of Willie's victims. His turn before the camera is, at the same time, poignant and riotously funny.The "MVP" of the NATURAL SELECTION production crew has to be Rhet W. Bear, the director of photography. This young cinematographer and his minimalist style gave director Bristol the ideal paint with which to create his witty picture of the Burrow/Odom screenplay.Again, as one of the film's department heads, it is difficult to be as objective as I would like. Still, I have to say that the film has a bright future ahead of it. NATURAL SELECTION is haunting and hilarious at the same time. It is a complex film which provides a stimulating counterpart to many contemporary works.I gauge a film by the number of times it would have been okay to skip out to the lobby for a nine-dollar hot dog. When you go see NATURAL SELECTION, I suggest that you eat first.One thing's for sure. You'll never look at your mailbox the same way again!