hipCRANK Life is tough for a down on his luck Mexican wrestling masked hero. Crime fighting doesn't really pay, so El Monstruo is relegated to thug duty. The conflicted good guy is a complex character, eager to carry on his family tradition (daddy was a famous luchador), but with a baby on the way, he stoops to henchman duties for local crime boss Teddy to pay the bills, usually with uncontrollably violent results.That's plenty for plot, but this film throws in a heaping helping of parallel story lines for a rather convoluted viewing experience. Major events are replayed through different characters, and alternate angles, resulting in some much needed clarity, as everything comes together nicely, and not so nicely in the end.The very seedy side of L.A. is the backdrop here, where illegals are funnelled towards horrific futures as prostitutes, or donors for a lucrative organ harvesting operation, or both. Grisly, old school gore movies are referenced as is some of Tarantino's spicier moments, but "Lowlife" works best on it's own originality: tackling very big global topics with local struggles. "Lowlife" struggles from the usual low budget issues, mainly uneven performances - Teddy is too wooden - but the clever, spiderweb tale, wild sequences, and quirky characters make up for it: here's a newly released convict with a full face Swastika tattoo, who is refreshingly likeable. No, really.

billcr12 The makers of Lowlife have obviously seen Reservoir Dogs. The non linear style and over the top violence are the similarities. What is missing here is Tarantino's genius. The main character is a Mexican wrestler in a Zorro mask. He has the funniest lines and they are in Spanish. The problem is the confused story line. The acting is competent but overall , Lowlife is a miss.

procletnic This is one of those 1 star movies you'll regret giving a chance to. I got fooled by the reviews, which are obviously written by paid shills. Don't make my mistake and avoid this movie like the plague. Talking about directing and cinematography doesn't make any sense when you have a script as atrocious as this one. I'll be honest here, I normally watch movies until the end, even if they are bad but by God, this thing was so incredibly stupid that I couldn't make it until the end. Make yourself a favor and skip this one.

contact-742-500835 Back in the 90's every movie wanted to be PULP FICTION, that trend has died down (even Tarantino makes stuff that is beyond his sophomore feature by now) but in this day and age a film like LOWLIFE comes along and becomes a true descendant of that film by taking the madness of the times and using it as its backdrop. Matter of fact, LOWLIFE makes PULP FICTION seem quaint simply by being a product of the current decade.This is a violent crime film with a capital V and it's also delightfully mad, and yet it doesn't seem unrealistic at all; we live in the Trump era, reality packed its bags long ago and now we are left in a bizarre world similar to the one painted in this film. A world filled with vicious ICE agents raiding motels full of illegal immigrants who are in turn harvested for their organs and enslaved in sex dungeons, a world of Legendary Mexican Luchador who have lost their noble way, a world of people in need of health-care who have to turn to organ traffickers for a chance at salvation and a world where reformed Neo-Nazis get triggered when suggesting they are racist and are woke as F.LOWLIFE is also hilarious in the most pitch black of ways. This is comedy that will make you feel guilty for laughing at stuff that would ignite a Twitter war. Its intersecting L.A. crime stories provide a variety of crime tales that make the film an entertaining ride of depravity and violence, not without making social commentary along the way which keeps it from being gratuitous. Each character is provided with so much personality that they could all have their own spin-off, which is the key to these type of fragmented time-line crime films.Director Ryan Prows transcends the Tarantino homage and makes a film that announces his arrival to the film world as a creative force and we should keep an eye on him. He shoots the film with 90's era David Fincher grunge that dips the film into a dark pit of fun nastiness. It's a dirty, depraved affair that will make you want to take a shower, but that dirt won't wash away because this film will stay with you for a long time. It's that good. In the following years movies will try to comment on the Trump era, those movies will try to be LOWLIFE.Review By Enrrico Wood Lagonigro - Senior Curator Oaxaca FilmFest.