Paint It Black

Strange is a particular forte of cult director Tim Hunter (River's Edge), and in this consciously Hitchcockian thriller, Hunter pulls out all the stops to deliver one of the most bizarre black comedy/suspense movies of the season. Rick Rossovich stars as Jonathan Dunbar, a talented but unknown metal sculptor, who is being strung along by a conniving art dealer (Sally Kirkland). When Dunbar helps Eric (Doug Savant), a wealthy and quite unhinged art appreciator and thief, Eric decides to champion Jonathan's cause at whatever price. The price turns out to be murder, and Jonathan becomes both a prime suspect, and the target of a madman. Paint It Black is decidedly weird, and some moments of violent black humor will put off more sensitive souls, but film buffs are likely to appreciate the nods to Hitchcock (particularly the outrageous tribute to the Mount Rushmore sequence in North by Northwest), and many people will simply get caught up in the tortuous windings of a film that twists more than Chubby Checker. Recommended. (R. Pitman)