Top 30 Greatest Movies of All-Time # 8
Title: Driftwood
Actors/Director/Anything Worth Mentioning Right Away: Tim Sullivan, Diamond Dallas Page
Introduction: Once upon a time, I was browsing Netflix looking for something to watch and one of the suggestions that came up was Tim Sullivan’s 2001 Maniacs. I had no idea what it meant at the time, but saw that it was a somewhat modern horror movie that had Robert Englund in it. This factor alone made me interested enough to check it out. It goes without saying that after watching it, and the sequel, I then moved onto Driftwood as my fascination for Tim Sullivan grew.
Location: It takes place primarily in a place where the bad boys go. Could you subscribe to the theory that if you were to rent a place such as this you could shoot this movie? Yes, I guess if I knew someone who owned a private school or something that had similar resemblance than I could easily enough get inside and make this movie. But I don’t think location was the problem with this movie- it was probably the teenage boy actors. That was probably the hardest part.
Plot: Rather than going through the step by step plot of this movie with you, since it’s on my all-time list I shall tell you what I liked about it without really divulging in spoilers. This movie isn’t over the top gory. It isn’t filled with a lot of death and bloodshed. It also isn’t (for the most part) a movie where people jump out behind other people and scare the viewer. This movie is probably the closest thing I would watch to a drama, and I say that with all due respect. But really this movie is sort of a thriller and mostly just suspenseful. It is, and this is really the best compliment that I can pay to this movie, the closest thing that I have seen to what a modern day Alfred Hitchcock movie would look like. It’s just edge of the seat suspense.
Acting: I’d like to turn my inner wrestling geek on for a minute because you knew it was bound to happen. When WCW was coming to its end, someone had the rather odd idea to give the World Title belt to David Arquette. While many (and by that I mean pretty much everybody) considered this to be a bad move, it wasn’t until years later that I actually became comfortable with it. Bad booking is always going to be a part of wrestling (That title would later be held by The Great Khali and he actually killed a guy in the ring) so you have to accept that. What people didn’t realize was that David Arquette took all of the money that he was paid by Ted Turner and donated it to Melanie Pillman, the widow of my without-a-doubt-all-time-favorite wrestler Brian Pillman. How did I learn this little nugget of trivia? Why, in a wrestling magazine interview with none other than Diamond Dallas Page. So DDP will always be cool in my book. Plus, he was also in The Devil’s Rejects.
Production: This may not be the biggest budget movie or the best known movie for Tim Sullivan either. Many of his fans may actually be turned off by this movie because it doesn’t possess the gore of the 2001 Maniacs movies. Keep in mind, however, that this movie still has a very dark look to it throughout. The production of it really sets the mood for the film, and you can really see how a simple thing such as the lighting sets the pace for the entire movie. Oh what a different movie this would have been had every scene been shot in green grass and sunshine.
Sex/Nudity: Not so much. But let me use this space here to mention that there exists a song called “Lost at Sea” by the band Craig’s Brother and they have the line “floating like driftwood”, which often pops into my head when I think of this movie as well.
Special Effects: As I continuously say, this movie doesn’t have that “Oh my Godzilla they just ripped that girl into pieces” quality that the 2001 Maniacs movies did. However, if you do like that sort of stuff and want to see it done well, the 2001 Maniacs movies do not disappoint.
Overall Verdict: I feel like out of the movies Tim Sullivan is known for this movie is like the mild child. (And yes, I suffer from mild child syndrome) Regardless of when each movie was actually made, you have two movies that go together and then you have Driftwood which not having 2001 Maniacs in the title of it is really one of the least reasons why this doesn’t fit in. Still, out of the three movies I think of when I think of Tim Sullivan, despite the other two being completely awesome, Driftwood is still my favorite.
The List Thus Far:
(8) Driftwood
(9) Rock ‘N’ Roll High School
(10) G.I. Joe: The Movie
(11) Billy Madison
(12) American Splendor
(13) Last Days
(14) Mallrats
(15) The Dark Knight
(16) Bottle Rocket
(17) Tank Girl
(18) The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl
(19) Big Trouble
(20) The Devil’s Rejects
(21) Raiders of the Lost Ark
(22) Beetlejuice
(23) Escape From L.A.
(24) Howard the Duck
(25) Cabin Fever
(26) Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
(27) Uncle Buck
(28) Donnie Darko
(29) Demolition Man
(30) Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
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