A motel owner, a luchador, and a group of criminals all see their lives interconnecting in ways they never expected.
Written by Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson, Shaye Ogbonna, Ruan Prows, and Maxwell Michael Towson, with Ryan Prows directing, Lowlife takes multiple stories and connects them through events in each character’s life and challenges. These characters are all well written as people with heavy flaws and lots of issues and put in a world where very little ever goes their way. The film takes an interesting approach to the story as we see it from each character’s point of view before it all merges into one story. This is separated into chapters of sorts and gives a structure similar to Pulp Fiction’s. However, the structure and the prevalence of crime are the only two things it has in common with that film, even though its influence it felt throughout.
The cast of characters ranges from desperate people to hardened criminals, all ready to do what is needed to get to their ends. Playing these characters is an eclectic group of actors who all show talent and give what their characters require. Of course, a few stand out from the group, in particular Nicki Micheaux as Crystal, the motel owner, who gives a passionate and emotional performance and Ricardo Adam Zarate as El Monstruo, the luchador trying to save his pregnant wife and unborn son to continue his lineage, who gives a strong performance despite most of his face being covered by his luchador mask. His performance becomes the central one as the film advances and his work here makes his talent shine and should make viewers want to see more from him, possibly without a restricting mask.
The story of Lowlife not only depends on the cast and their performances to work but also on the film’s structure an editing. The editing here is by Brett W. Bachman and Jarod Shannon who put the film together in a way that adds interest and keeps the story tight. Also giving an assist is the cinematography by Benjamin Kitchens which gives the film its look and visual style, helping create an immersive world for the viewer to share with the characters. However, a note must be made that the camera shakes often and without obvious reason, something that becomes an annoyance as the film advances. Helping create the general feeling of the film is the music by Pepjin Caudron with additional music by Terry Downtain. The music throughout the film works to add to the feel of things.
The film may not be a horror movie, but it has plenty blood and gore to satisfy genre fans. A few scenes in particular have more than a decent amount of the sticky gooey stuff. For those scenes, the special make-up effects are the work of Josh Russell and Sierra Russell, as well as work from Ron Karkoska and Jennifer M. Quinteros. Together they create a few great corpses and wounds that will surprise some and delight others.
Lastly, extra kudos must go to costume designer Alicia Ast for doing great at dressing these characters in appropriate wear for their situations. Also, the suit worn by El Monstruo is flat out epic. It’s a piece of art and it steals scenes with its colors and its style, adding tons of personality to an already colorful character.
Lowlife is an entertaining film that uses an interesting story structure to good effect paired with good acting from most of the cast, creating a film that keeps the attention and makes the viewer want to know more. It’s well-crafted on most fronts and is one that should be seen by fans of the genre. It has been compared to Pulp Fiction which can be misleading so going into it as cold as possible story-wise may be the best way to get the most out of the film. Lowlife is there to remind Hollywood that there are plenty good, entertaining films left to be made before more remakes should be pumped out. It’s an original story with a familiar style that works great.