The Rambler

Clearly aspiring to cult-movie status, this straight-to-video effort stars Dermot Mulroney as the titular unnamed character, a man who wears cowboy boots, a weathered Stetson hat, and aviator sunglasses that he leaves on even during a brutal boxing match. Granted early parole from a prison located somewhere in sun-baked New Mexico, the Rambler heads for his brother's pony ranch in Oregon on a surreal road trip that is really just a loose-knit series of episodes that involve plenty of exploding heads (and other body parts), gallons of yellow vomit, unexplained lights in the sky, and a damsel in distress played by Lindsay Pulsipher, who deserves a medal for screaming louder and longer than any other ill-fated woman in the history of horror. Did I mention the batty old scientist (James Cady) who has invented a machine that can record dreams onto VHS tapes? Or Natasha Lyonne? (I still can't figure out what her role is about.). Writer-director Calvin Lee Reeder tries to channel David Lynch, Quentin Tarantino, and Rob Zombie, but The Rambler ultimately comes across as a confusing mash-up with an identity crisis. Not a necessary purchase. (J. Shannon)