The New Black Cinema?
hollywood's best kept secret is at a video store near you
2008-03-28
By Sergio Mims

From the early 1930’s to the late 70’s, generations of moviegoers enjoyed the cheap thrills and simple pleasures of what were known as ‘B” movies, low budget films with lesser known or no name stars made by either major film studios, small “poverty row” film studios such as Monogram, Republic, and PRC or independent producers with plotlines of always exploitive material such as westerns, suspense thrillers, horror, crime and sci-fi films. They usually played the second half of a double feature along with an “A” film, a bigger budgeted Hollywood studio film with big name famous movie stars of the period. And it wasn’t unusual for the “B” movies to be more entertaining and creative than the “A” studios film they were attached to.

As film budgets escalated and audiences grew more fickle, the “B” movie died a slow painful death. Today, many a Hollywood film, like those based on high concept ideas or comic book movies are basically just “B” movies with more expensive special effects.  But the true “B” movie still lives on in concept with the straight-to-DVD movie.

Everyone is familiar with these films -- weird horror, action or suspense films you’ve never heard of that pop up like daisies on video stores shelves with compelling cover art that never seems to match what’s in the actual films.

Straight-to-DVD (S-DVDs for short) movies fall into one of two categories: Independently produced films originally made for theatrical release but which, for various reasons, have been unable to land a distributor. As a result they wind up being bought by independent or studio DVD distribution arms and most of these tend to have bigger, more established talents such as Morgan Freeman, John Cusack or Ralph Fiennes.

The second category is lower budget films made directly for the S-DVD market, and usually feature unknowns or one time big name but now faded movie stars whose careers have suffered a downturn as the result of too many bad film choices and, sometimes, expanding waistbands, such as Val Kilmer, Jean Claude van Damme or Steven Segal.

Amongst these titles, one trend that has gone without much notice is the huge output of S-DVD movies made directly for the black audience. No doubt taking note of the huge amounts of money that theatrical black films make in the ancillary DVD market, many small distributors and producers as well as several Hollywood film studios such as Sony Pictures and Fox, have gotten into the black S-DVD film market with a vengeance.

Like most DVDs they focus mainly on easily marketable material such as horror (and its off shoot, the gangsta’ thug horror film)  romantic comedies. thrillers and raucous Tyler Perry rip-off family comedies, and they’re often directed by someone who goes by a pseudonym like Phenomenon or Mody Mod, no doubt thinking forward to the day when they might actually want to have their God-given names attached to a project.

Keep in mind the very valid reason why S-DVD films, whether they’re aimed for the general audience or the black audience in particular, go straight to DVD rather than the movie theaters first: they’re awful! Because of their very small, limited budgets and low-man-on-the totem-pole status, S-DVDs, don’t strive to be anything other than badly made, poorly written forgettable time wasters. That said, however, it must also be said that the astonishing number of black themed S-DVDs that come out seemingly every week perhaps is evidence of a new black cinema that is emerging, not on the big screen but in your latest Netflix mail delivery.

Most of these titles leave a lot to be desired. A few releases come to mind:

The Contractor, the latest in a series of S-DVDs starring pre-tax challenged former A-lister Wesley Snipes, is a tired, clichéd action thriller about a CIA assassin on the run in London with little action and few thrills. The only thing worth keeping up with in the film is its clumsy attempts to pass off Bulgaria (where the film was  actually shot) as London.

The wanna-be Tyler Perry family comedy Dirty Laundry is a dull movie about a guy (played by Rockmond Dunbar) with a secret who returns to his southern home town to claim the son he didn’t know he had, takes forever to get started and when it does drags on interminably.

Only the recent S-DVD film, The Box, with Giancarlo Esposito and the annoyingly  baby faced Gabrielle Union (unbelievably playing a tough hardnosed cop) actually reaches the sleazy, entertaining, depths of the old classic “B” movies of the 50’s. Though it’s certainly no classic, at least director AJ Kpar knows what a cheap, exploitation crime film is supposed to be about. 

Entertainment factor aside, black S-DVDs do serve a positive function for the community: consistent work! Many actors and actresses of cancelled sit-coms, C-list black celebrities and especially husky voiced, blandly good looking, but charisma challenged black male actors have found a welcome home in S-DVDs movies.

On the basis of quantity alone, the title of Queen of the S-DVD black films no doubt must go to Vivica A. Fox who has carved out her own niche in this market making some eight films in the last two years including Three Can Play That Game (sequel to the unfunny Two Can Play That Game), Cover, Caught on Tape,  Motives and its sequel Motives 2, and Getting Played among others.  Topping her is the all time champ Clifton Powell, a familiar face who’s appeared in over 110 films and TV shows since the early 80’s. Powell has racked up a staggering 15 S-DVD roles in the last year alone including Father of Lies with Queen Vivica.

Whether black themed straight to DVD films will transcend their cheap, simple plotted, predictable format remains to be seen. The fact  that they are being produced and released at such an astounding rate proves that there’s a market out there hungry for them. The question is will they use that demand to move on to greater things or stay mired in the same ol’ same ol’?

How many do you think can play that game?

Film critic, lecturer and festival consultant Sergio Mims covers all things film from the city that works, Chicago. He is a regular contributor to ebonyjet.com

Covers: IMDB.com