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This independently produced murder mystery peaked my interest because it involved the sideshow and Mike Patton, the lead singer of Faith No More. I was hoping for a surreal thriller, but received a poorly acted, mess of a narrative.

The film tells two parallel stories of abuse with Patton playing two roles and Karen Black (FIVE EASY PIECES) playing two roles as well. Jimmy (Jak Kendall, film debut) and his mother Eleanor (Black) are tormented and tortured by their hard-drinking brother/son David (Patton). Sandra (Black) works for a traveling sideshow where her and her fellow performers are under the harsh rule of carnival owner Frank (Patton).

David is obsessed with Sandra, who doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. After hearing, Sandra perform Jimmy wants to go on the road with her to set himself free, but she knows that being with Frank is no form of freedom. As secrets are laid bare, David goes missing. And as a wonderfully constructive opening shot reveals has been buried in a shed. Female police officer Ed (Susan Traylor, HEAT) is on the case to find out what happened to David and who is responsible.

Many of the first time actors are very weak, including Patton and especially Kendall. Making matters worse is the stellar dual performances of Black. She shines in two distinctive and truthful performances that showcase her gifts as an actress, who has been woefully relegated to C-grade horror flicks.

Director/writer Steve Balderson has a wonderful visual style contrasting the black & white world of Jimmy and Eleanor with the hyper-colorized world of the sideshow. The film looks magnificent. However, the narrative doesn’t hold up.

Balderson loses his point of view throughout the film. Black’s characters are great, however Jimmy feels like he should be the central character but is often lost in the shuffle. Kendall’s performance doesn’t help matters either. Yet, some moments have great freshness like one scene involving a white sheet on a squeaky clothesline and a dead body. But then we get some bizarre scenes with a random woman in white that look great, but read as pointless pretension.

For daring to be original, I give the film credit. Weaker performances can be forgiven when the narrative is tight, but this story loses its central focus thus losing its audience at times. Fans of offbeat work from filmmakers like David Lynch may appreciate what this film has to offer, others will be left scratching their heads wondering how the story got where it goes. Balderson has great talent — here he tried and missed the mark too many times. The story doesn’t work enough to compel me to recommend the film, but I give great praise to the filmmakers for at least trying something new.