Writer/director Joe Begos has a knack for making stylish and dazzling indie horror films. This is certainly true of his last few releases, such as Bliss and VFW. His latest feature, Jimmy and Stiggs, is a neon-lit splatterfest that's a love letter to grindhouse cinema and the practical effects heyday of 1980s horror. It's also a nasty alien invasion movie that's gruesome and unrelenting.
Jimmy and Stiggs, the first release from Eli Roth's new company, The Horror Section, has two leads, Begos as Jimmy and Matt Mercer as Stiggs. Hauled up in his apartment, Jimmy snorts a lot of coke and downs bottle after bottle of booze. How he's still alive is frankly a mystery. One night, aliens besiege his apartment and abduct him. This causes Jimmy to follow a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories. He watches video after video of alien abduction stories. There's even reference to the infamous Alien Autospy: (Fact or Fiction)? TV movie that aired on Fox in the mid-90s. Jimmy and Stiggs has a lot of fun playing with alien lore and zany theories.
Instead of waiting around for aliens to return and abduct him a second time, Jimmy, fueld by drugs and booze, takes up arms against the aliens. Stiggs, his best friend, joins him. Together, they're a powerful force and do their best to fight off the malevolent aliens, who inject painful implants into the jaws of abductees. The otherworldly visitors, meanwhile, look like props you could buy at Spirit Halloween, but when shot, they eject and squirt gross goo.
Jimmy and Stiggs, unlike some of Begos' other work, is light on plot and character development. There was even a chance to explore the ramifications of addiction more, especially since Jimmy pressures Stiggs to drink, even though he's sober. Yet, this isn't a film too concerned with plot. It's carried primarily by its practical effects and mesmerizing 16-mm aesthetic. The film looks great and wows in that regard.
The feature rivals the likes of Dead Alive and Evil Dead in its grossness and gore. Other than the fact Begos is an established writer and director, it's clear why Roth made this the first release of his new company. it's goopy and gory to the extreme. Begos doesn't hold back. Alien heads explode like burst pimples. Limbs spurt blood endlessly. Jimmy's apartment transforms into an all-out warzone between evil extraterrestrials and two very flawed, drug-addled humans. This feature very much feels like Begos' homage to his influences, especially practical effects and the grindhouse era of horror.
As for the alien narrative, the film does a few things we haven't quite seen before. Somehow, the aliens have the power to wall off all the doors and windows in Jimmy's apartment. They turn them into a thick layer of bricks. Though the gnarly ETs may look somewhat cheap, they're still vicious. They also have gross tentacle-like parts that wiggle from their mouths. It's enhances the creature design. There's even one specific abduction scene that's both chilling and all kinds of icky.
Overall, while Jimmy and Stiggs is light on character and plot, it's still a drug-fueled blast that's an adrenaline rush. Like Begos' previous work, the film looks great and pops with plenty of eye candy. This is one insane alien invasion movie that maintains Begos' status as one of the most interesting genre directors in the game.
Jimmy and Stiggs opens in theaters on Friday, August 15.