Stop Manipulating Me (Stop manipulating me. Stop manipulating me...)

Let me begin by saying that Final Flesh is certainly not a film for everyone, or even most. Vernon Chatman, whom you may know as co-creator of production company PFFR, as well as co-creator of surrealist/absurdist comedy shows such as Xavier Renegade Angel and Wondershowzen, has created what some will consider a masterpiece, and others will consider pure filth, and will swear to never revisit the experience for a few eternities.

Basically, the premise is that Chatman had stumbled upon some porn companies who are willing to act out their client's fantasies and send them the video. He then wrote an absurdly cerebral, somewhat existential, satirical script and hired 4 of these companies to act them out, under the guise that his script actually caters to his particular fetish, though be aware that there is no actual sex in the film (though there are heavy sexual overtones). The video comes as recorded, with no presence or direction whatsoever by Chatman aside from what was written on the script, and perhaps some minor post editing. As the actors have no idea as to the purpose of the film, besides what they assume is to bring satisfaction to some guy with very oddly particular tastes, they attempt, with varying degrees of amateurish earnestness, to follow the script to a T. The result is one of the most uniquely hilarious 71 minutes you may experience in your life, which Salvador Dali would doubtlessly be proud of. Peculiar moments include lines such as "I wanted to use his blood to oil the machinery of capitalism", shaking meat in a jar until it turns into milk, and showering in tears of both children and corrupt politicians.

I cannot guarantee you will enjoy Final Flesh quite as much as I did (or at all), but I can guarantee that you will never quite see anything like it (nor will most anyone you come across. This film is as obscure as they come). Fans of Wondershowzen and Xavier should pick up on Chatman's unique sense of humor and social commentary throughout the film, which, from personal experience, can prove to be quite rewarding when watching this film, especially for the first time (as was the case for me last night). It certainly was a more cohesive experience than I had expected, having a semblance of a plot, as well as recurring elements and themes touching from religion to human nature. So if you've got a taste for surreal and thought provoking pseudo-comedies, you may want to take a trip to Amazon.com and invest in what will surely be an eccentric addition to any home movie library.