Scumbag Hustler Review from Full Circle Filmworks!

I think I’ve said this before in a previous review, but I simply love dirty gritty maggots in the alleys of NYC films. Anything which shows the seedy side of the city. You know, like Andy Warhol’s Trash (see review of Trash here) Basket Case, Combat Shock, Life is Hot in Cracktown (see review of Life is Hot in Cracktown here) and Story of a Junkie (see review of Story of a Junkie here). So low budget workaholic, Sean Weathers, brings many a trash heaven NYC DVD and has done so for many years. Perhaps Scumbag Hustler is his most street and certainly his most deranged gift to humanity thus so far. All filmed in Brooklyn, by the way.

You have to love the use of classical music on the soundtrack as we meet our main man, Soloman Crow. He’s a sweating, vest wearing crackhead, constantly on the streets hustling and catching many a fool with his bullshit techniques to making paper for his habit. Why the first guy falls for such a ridiculous hard sell when Soloman is face pulling and licking his lips frantically, beats me, but he bags himself a hundred bucks.

This is it. His existence. He moves on soon to convince a hot girl to shell out money for some weed. Back at her hubby’s apartment, he’s proper sweating. “You okay?” she asks. He sits on the bed and introduces her instead to crack rock. “How ya like me now??!!” Soloman yells as he produces his gear. Afterwards, they have a session of full frontal sucks and licks followed by the old in-out.

It transpires that some time has moved on. He’s had an OD/heart attack in a hotel room with a hooker. His brother, Tyler, has agreed he move in with him to recover. Tyler is a camp religious bible bashing chap and his slinky wife, Tamia, is very sexually frustrated. In a subplot, Tyler refuses sex for the sake of sex, even slapping her down when she seduces him. He seems to be a repressed homosexual who’s in conflict with himself.

“Praise Jesus!” proclaims Tyler as he discusses Soloman’s new ways and tells Tamia about their childhood. Meanwhile, Soloman is in a laundrette, broke (as is the sound levels) and is hooking up with a girl who scores him a deal. Next up, he steals from a convenience store, has a clumsy slurping drink, then picks up another lady to score for him. She sees through him and says he has to score it. “Look, if I get the dope, I get the pussy!” he demands. She rolls her eyes. Soloman plays a very smooth trick with a lottery ticket outside a store to get the cash. He sure does get the pussy afterwards.

We discover that Tamia is comically gullible as hell when he spins a yarn about working for the D.E.A. His overdose was really an assassination attempt and he uses heroin to build his immune system in case it happens again. “Oh, wow,” she says, “I had no idea.” Fuck me!!! He begins grooming her for drugs. “Everyone he meets he wants to get high with.” grinned my Horror Soulmate.

Cool hustle after hustle follows. A broken laptop, a fake DVD, a desperate tale of being beaten by skinheads; “They called me a nigger!!” More scores, smoking dog end tabs off the concrete. Soloman’s days continue.

“You’re trying to tell me that my husband is a spy?” bleats Tamika. It isn’t long before she’s high with Soloman. Things carry on until he screws over one of his dealers, and Tamika finds him trying to leave. She tells him how Tyler has a $100,000 life insurance plan and they should kill him together.

The micro budget works wonders for Scumbag Hustler. It simply cannot have any money behind it and it looks so genuine for that factor. Sean Weathers plays Soloman to perfection. Sweating, twitching and looking all ways at the same time. Hell, he probably only played the lead role so he could fuck so many ladies. If you look carefully, there’s a few penetration moments. Scumbag Hustler is a god damn lad’s porn flick with a flimsy story stapled to its bare ass! Waliek Crandall, as Tyler, is perhaps a weaker link in the talent pool. He seems to drag his scenes down, whilst Sybelle Silverphoenix who plays Tamia has a CV as long as Soloman’s habit. She is quite funny in her parts. The other cast members are either first timers, rookies, or just passersbys, which truly shines up this production.

It’s a shame about the abrupt ending! Yes, it’s one of those kinds of conclusions. It ends! That’s it! What??!! It runs for 67 minutes, by the way, and not 75 minutes like the case states.

The Scumbag Hustler extras on the Full Circle Filmworks DVD are chock full of unexpected goodies. I laughed at the hokey public domain stuff like Reefer Madness, and a Sony Bono documentary on weed. Classic! There’s short movies, interviews and a load of trailers for Sean’s other creations, the best being the retro looking Ace Jackson Must Die and the violent House of the Damned. Brutal killings, pornography and streets are all ingredients in Sean’s world. All in all, for the few quid (or dollars) this sells for on Amazon, it’s a great introduction to Sean Weathers.

DVD SPECS:
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Region: NTSC R0
Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL:
– Interview with Sybelle Silverphoenix
– Reefer Madness – Bonus Film
– Sony Bono’s Documentary on Marijuana
– Audio Commentary
– Behind the Scenes
– Trailer Gallery

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Scumbag Hustler Review from Full Circle Filmworks!

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