A truly bizarre horror-comedy, Triloquist is a film you'll either love or hate. I loved it.
From writer-director Mark Jones of "Leprechaun" fame, comes the cross-country saga of sexy, feisty, and more than a little psychotic Angelina (Paydin LoPachin), her autistic brother Norbert (Rocky Marquette) and last but certainly not least, "Dummy" (voiced by Bruce Weitz), their constant companion ever since dear old mom overdosed on heroin in her grungy apartment in between ventriloquist performances. It seems that Norbert talks through Dummy but it is Angelina calling the shots as the trio steals a car, killing anyone who gets in their way, including officers of the law. It seems that since the family bloodline is dying out, Angelina is determined to get her brother pregnant, even if it means kidnapping an innocent bystander (Katie Chonacas) or, worse comes to worse, doing it herself. Ewww!
Mark Jones hasn't done too much since directing the original "Leprechaun" way back in 1993 aside from write the further adventures of the Warwick Davis character. While he has directed a few things, nothing of real note as of late. He seems to have been saving up his energy for this film as Triloquist is hyper-energized. Jones pulls out nearly every directing and editing trick in the book, from jump-cuts to desaturated cinematography to grainy black and white footage in order to bring his unique vision of the most questionable "family unit" to life. The resulting film is a blast to watch if you're in the mood for something a little different. The film may have been marketed as a horror film but it really isn't one. It certainly is never scary. Instead, Triloquist is a pitch-black comedy, the kind of super-dark comedy that demands you to laugh at the absurdity of how the material is handled. From happy-go-lucky circus chimes when the trio are binding and then killing a police officer to the mix of heavy metal and rap while the characters are walking in slow motion away from their victims, Jones makes use of a widely diverse soundtrack in telling his tale.
Really, the film that comes to mind while watching Triloquist is "Natural Born Killers." The way in which this film mixes comedy and flashes of ultra-violence to the use of a variety of camera tricks to the manner in which the killers are almost glorified as they go on a cross-country killing spree, the two films have a lot in common. In this case, most of the humor comes courtesy of Dummy as he spouts off excessively vulgar sexual jokes, makes constant reference to Angelina being "hot" and having "nice tits" to his dreams (yes, the dummy dreams) of naked women dancing around and then making love to him; this is one whacked-out piece of wood.
The acting is decent as really only Paydin LoPachin has a significant speaking role as Rocky Marquette doesn't actually talk. As such, LoPachin has to carry the film on her 20-year old shoulders, which she does quite well. Aside from a few moments where she overacts during her almost constant psychotic tirades, LoPachin is frighteningly believable as a psycho who is able to get what she wants because of how she looks. As the voice of "Dummy," Bruce Weitz is good but sounds a lot like Brad Dourif who does the voice of "Chucky" in the "Child's Play" series about a killer doll so he loses points for recycling a style that has been done multiple times already.
If "Natural Born Killers" had a cinematic cousin," Triloquist would be it.
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