Exposure (2001)

While the career trajectory of David Blyth as a whole is worthy of discussion, the late 80's and 90's were a particularly curious time for the New Zealand based provocateur. Although Blyth helmed a few projects in his homeland throughout those years, he himself had admitted to having become a journeyman and worked abroad quite a bit, at times on some fairly uncharacteristic things such as four episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993 and four episodes of the White Fang series in 1994. While speaking to the Never Repeats podcast about the genesis of his film Wound (2010), Blyth spoke of this period and admitted “I'd became so frustrated and I went back and I re-looked at Angel Mine and I said to myself I've gotta go back to my roots... I'd lost all of it, I'd become a journeyman, I'd become a hired gun.” Two of Blyth's standout films from this period were shot in Canada, the first being the unique vampire film Red Blooded American Girl (1990) and the subversive exploitation/road movie Hot Blooded (1997). At the dawn of the new millennium Blyth was back home in New Zealand and made the last of his “hired gun” period, Exposure, which is perhaps the most anonymous and least personal title in his filmography yet like most of Blyth's work is infused with several things that make it an interesting thriller.

After hearing a rustling noise in his boat shed while on his morning jog, photographer Gary Whitford (Ron Silver) is surprised to find a woman, Elaine Drury, inside who had slept in the shed all night after running away from a fight with her boyfriend. The two become friendly and Elaine, impressed by Gary's photographs, expresses her interest in modeling. After shooting a set with Gary, Elaine's modeling career begins to take off although her career is short lived after Gary discovers her murdered in her apartment. Not long after more people around Gary wind up murdered and despite the police's suspicion of him, Gary himself becomes the target, his photographs being the catalyst for the killings.

Much like Blyth's previous film Hot Blooded, Exposure is a film that feels very much “out of time” Visually, the film has all the characteristics of the erotic thrillers that defined the 90's yet its story of a photographer caught up in a web of murder wouldn't have felt out of place in a giallo film from the 70's, yet the film was made and released in the early 2000's which probably accounts for its under the radar status. It's a nice melding of styles and seeing as how both the giallo and erotic thriller tend to crossover, works quite well. As a protagonist, Whitford is certainty atypical in that for the majority of the film he's rather despondent and almost unapproachable which is unquestionably going to be a deciding factor for many viewers, though reveals later on in the story make his gloomy disposition perfectly understandable. The actual murder mystery is a bit unusual for a film of this type, with a strange religious angle attached to it, the reason for the killings being somewhat random and perhaps a bit far reaching which again, is very giallo-like in execution. By far the films biggest strength is its visuals with Blyth's knack for high style in full force, giving the film a very cool, icy blue sheen. The photography motif is put to great use as well, adding to the films sleek look and feel and Blyth does manage to let his surrealist tendencies to show briefly with some memorably strange dream sequences.

On the same episode of the aforementioned Never Repeats podcast, Blyth confessed that the shoot was difficult, largely due to the personality of Silver, especially his treatment of his co-star Alexandra Paul. Blyth stated “Ron Silver made her cry virtually every day 'cause he's a little short ass and he was only there 'cause he had to pay off his wife's divorce bills so he was in a bad mood and every day the producers would say to me “Get him to smile, he's looking too dark...” We'd work at night and he hated that and in fact he walked off one night and it caused so many problems.” Exposure was also the film that led to Blyth taking a decade hiatus from narrative features. Blyth confessed “2000 I made Exposure... and it had so many producers and I came out of it so depressed. I then spent the next ten years as basically the tutor at South Seas Film School.” It was during Blyth's tenure at South Seas where he focused on documentary work with Bound for Pleasure (2002) and Transfigured Nights (2007) before returning to narrative features with Wound. Although Blyth himself might not look back upon the experience of making Exposure with much joy, the films visual aesthetic and various little quirks prove what the best filmmakers can accomplish even when all the elements seem to be working against them.

Hot Blooded (1997)

AKA Red Blooded American Girl II, Red Blooded 2, Red Blooded and Hit and Run

The direct-to-video market has always been a bit of a double-edged sword. When distribution options for lower budget films began to dry up in the late 80's going into the 90's along with the closure of certain theaters and drive-in's, the DTV market was unquestionably a boon for low-budget and genre filmmakers as not only did it secure distribution for their films but with video stores at the height of their popularity, it was almost a guarantee that many films would find their audiences either in the video store or on cable. This was especially true for genre films, especially the horror, action and erotic thriller genres, with many DTV titles in each of those genres gaining cult followings. On the other hand, there was always a stigma to going DTV, with many elitist types snubbing their noses at DTV films as if it was a sign of lower quality. There was also the danger of certain films getting lost in the shuffle with so many film either going straight to home video or cable, it was inevitable that some films would be passed over and never really find the audiences or cult they deserved. This is certainly the case when it comes to David Blyth's 1997 film Hot Blooded, one of the most satisfying films from the New Zealand based provocateur and a film that offers so much more than is advertised.

Trent, a naive college student on the road to visit his parents for Thanksgiving inadvertently finds himself in the midst of an altercation at a truck stop resulting in a hit and run. Miya (Kari Wuhrer), a prostitute who initiated the confrontation, jumps in the passenger seat of Trent's car and the two speed away from the scene. Although reluctant at first to have Miya ride along, the two form a bond and continue on to Trent's parents, trailed by both the police and Roy, a vengeful trucker, while Miya drags the sheltered Trent further into her world of lawlessness.

Hot Blooded is a fascinating film for a variety of reasons. The film is fairly indicative of the kinds of films going direct-to-video or late night cable in the later half of the 90's in terms of look and mood,  but the film is also very much in the vein of a 70's drive-in exploitation vehicle. The film goes through some pretty interesting tonal shifts, playing out like the kind of film it's advertised to be early on but once the film settles in and Miya and Trent set off on their journey together, Blyth's subversive tendencies kick in and the film essentially becomes a character study or a psychological profile of Miya. Miya is a wonderfully multi-layered character with a tough, streetwise facade yet underneath is  a severely damaged individual. Both facets of her personality make the relationship she and Trent develop throughout the film all the more engaging and at the same time, tragic. There's always the question as to whether or not Miya is manipulating Trent's naivety with her constant philosophizing of the hurt parents do to their children in an attempt to get him to break out from his parents control or if she begins to feel genuine affection for him as it's clear both are in need of true companionship and Blyth does offer up some light-hearted moments between the two such as a humerus scene in an S&M shop, yet the film never shies away from skin-crawling, uncomfortable territory either, especially as it relates to Miya's past.

The film was shot in Canada for the same producer as Blyth's vampire film Red Blooded American Girl (1990) and despite having absolutely nothing to do with vampires the film was released and marketed in some territories as a sequel. Bylth himself is rather fond of the film with some slight reservations regarding the final edit as he explained on the New Zealand based Never Repeats podcast “I quite like it to be honest... the editor, what's happened is they cut, there was a very long sequence of after they leave the gas station at the beginning there was a very long sequence in the car which I shot car processed in a studio and what the editor did was they cut it in half and they put the other half halfway through the film and it actually makes the film make no fucking sense but again, I didn't have any control plus that's not the end I wanted to shoot but the producer insisted on that end.” Blyth also has some humorous compliments regarding Kari Wuhrer and the reason her co-star Kristoffer Ryan Winters' eyebrows made him “look like a dick”. Had the film been made 20 years earlier, there's a good chance it would have become a drive-in hit. As it stands, Hot Blooded is the definition of the term “hidden gem” and a prime example of Blyth's skill at subversion.