Black Neon (1991)

For years I thought Australia's DTV action star Edward Stazak had only ever starred in two films. Day of the Panther and Strike of the Panther (as muscly hero Jason Blade). But there was one last film he appeared in before his retirement from film. 1991s crime flick Black Neon...

Tom Maranta is a bouncer at a nightclub, and is sick of the whole business. The sleaze, the drunks, and the violence. Recurring nightmares of a violent encounter have left him near breaking point, yet he still finds it hard to quit the lifestyle. When news comes that his nemesis Pharaoh has come out of prison and is in the area again, this only makes things worse, until another confrontation is unavoidable...

Black Neon is an interesting little movie, with a tough history. One of the more obscure Aussie films out there, it was broadcast once on Channel 9. No theatrical release, no VHS, not even a DVD! The film was considered lost for years, until some enterprising fella who taped it way back when uploaded the whole film onto Youtube.

Black Neon is a low-budget film, and not the best out there, but I found it an interesting little watch. It gets off to a good start, introducing us to its characters and their dilemmas quickly enough. With decent use of voiceover and flashbacks, we get a nice psychological portrait of the lead character.

The film has an unflattering portrayal of nightclub life and culture, though positive to bouncers themselves. It effectively portrays PTSD-How a single event can leave someone scarred mentally, and how they deal with it. Tom's nightmares are a distortion of his fears and reality, forcing him to relive the event. This is shown in a good way, and I appreciate that it doesn't just show the same flashback each time.

Tom is a likeable enough protagonist. Caring and loyal, but a bit closed off with his emotions, and a man of few words (which is more of an informed attribute, since we hear him speaking all the time). The poor dude just wants things to work out better, and you feel bad for him. Although I've got no idea why the hell he doesn't just quit! It's just a bouncing job. Tell your boss to stuff it! Whenever Tom tries asking him about it, he raises a big fuss, as if it's the hardest thing in the world to find another bouncer.

Tom's wife Celeste is nice enough, and patient with Tom despite his tough job. Although she seems pretty crazy in a couple of montage flashbacks!

Tom's friend Jack is a bit of a wreck, after a collapsed marriage of his own, torn apart thanks to his job. despondent, sleeping around, and drinking a bit too much, Jack is like a twisted future image of Tom. Despite his troubles though, he's still there for his friend, and jumps back into the fray when needed.

I like how their friendship is portrayed, where they're best mates, but not afraid to give each-other a bit of constructive criticism. Being mates shouldn't blind you to someone's flaws after all, and trying to help them overcome them is part of true friendship.

The villain of the film even when not physically present, is Pharaoh, a small-time gangster who stabbed Tom years prior. Now out of prison, he's intent on rebuilding his empire. Given everything we hear about him being small-time, and the lack of resolution, we were probably better off without those scenes, but then that would eliminate most of his screentime.

Black Neon is pretty light on action, but that's ok. If you go in expecting Road House, or even Return of the Panther, you'll be disappointed, but the movie never tries being something it's not. The fights we do get are decent enough. Mainly some bouncing, breaking up bathroom brawls, or carpark encounters.

It's the climax which has the biggest action setpiece of the film. It gets a bit abstract with the direction. I'm not sure if the quick-cuts were on purpose, to highlight the chaotic psychological nature of the struggle...or if maybe it was just an attempt to make it look cool. It's not the most visually satisfying scene, and it's a bit hard to see what's going on, but at least we know who's who, generally, and it's satisfying seeing Pharaoh get the shit kicked out of him. The sequence ends really abruptly though, without any real resolution to the whole Pharaoh story.

It's the ending where I lose patience with the film though. It's such a needlessly depressing moment, and made me feel such a dislike for Celeste! Like, I get her husband getting beaten up at work isn't exactly ideal, but there are other solutions beyond packing your bags! Especially when the poor guy's trying to quit! It's not his fault he was jumped by psychotic European gangsters. But no, instead she leaves him, and all his fears come true. The end. *sigh*

The acting here is quite good. It'd have to be given what a character piece this is! The performances feel natural, and they sell the good times as well as the turmoil they face. Stazak is a good lead, getting to stretch his dramatic muscles, while Zale Daniel plays a small but important role as Tom's psychiatrist. Kristof Kaczmarek's performance as Pharaoh is amusingly over the top, especially with his evil accent. Not quite sure it fits the tone of the movie, but he doesn't do badly. And lastly, as burly best friend Jack is director and co-writer James Richards. At first I thought Zale was the only Panther connection, until I realised Richards is Baxter! Here sporting a massive yellow mane, that made me piss myself laughing after realising who he was.

The music is a high point. We've got a moody techno main theme, and effectively distorted pieces during some of the nightmare sequences. The music that plays over the ending credits is really pleasant, too (albeit short and looping). It ends the film with a happy sort of melancholy feeling.

The direction by James Richards is pretty neat! There are many well framed images, and a dark use of lighting that lives up to the title. Some scenes may be a little too dark blue, to the point where it's a little hard to make out what we're seeing. But it's not unwatchable. And hey, a lot of that might be down to the crummy print.

Overall, Black Neon is alright. Nothing amazing, but as far as late night movies on Channel 9 go, you could do worse. There's enough to warrant a watch for those into moody crime dramas, especially the homegrown West Aussie variety!

Black Neon would prove to be Edward Stazak's last foray into film. He soon received an injury and retired from acting after it didn't work out. This all sounds like a gloomy epitaph for Stazak's career, I know, but he would then turn to music full time, and has been an accomplished accordionist in the Perth scene for the last couple of decades. So things can end on a bit of a happy note!...