''Hectic Knife'' is a

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

about a knife-wielding vigilante who fights against drug dealers, murderers and other "baddies," including Piggly Doctor, a villain bent on world domination. The idea for the film gestated as

Peter Litvin Peter Litvin (born April 20, 1985) is an American music artist, actor, music producer, film maker, audio engineercomposer songwriter, performer, YouTuber, and multi-instrumentalist based in New York City. Litvin is best known for his lead role as ...

, who later co-wrote, starred in, and produced the film, and director

Greg DeLiso Greg DeLiso (born October 25, 1986) is an American filmmaker, film editor, and director of photography. He was born in Detroit, Michigan and grew up in the suburbs of Shelby Township. Throughout his career, DeLiso has demonstrated his passion fo ...

were working on a series titled ''Short Films for Nobody.'' Filming began in 2010 and wrapped in 2015. Shortly after the film was finished, DeLiso and Litvin secured distribution via

Troma Entertainment Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974. The company produces low-budget independent films, primarily of the horror comedy genre. Many of them pla ...

Plot

''Hectic Knife'' is a meta-homage-parody of super-hero genre films, in the vein of ''

Airplane! ''Airplane!'' (alternatively titled ''Flying High!'') is a 1980 American parody film written and directed by the brothers David and Jerry Zucker, and Jim Abrahams in their directorial debuts, and produced by Jon Davison. It stars Robert Hay ...

'' and ''

Not Another Teen Movie ''Not Another Teen Movie'' is a 2001 American teen parody film directed by Joel Gallen and written by Mike Bender, Adam Jay Epstein, Andrew Jacobson, Phil Beauman, and Buddy Johnson. It features an ensemble cast including Chyler Leigh, Chris Eva ...

''. The film is a deconstruction of the generic character-types and origin-story tropes of big-budget Hollywood movies featuring dark and brooding

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

vigilantes Vigilantism () is the act of preventing, investigating and punishing perceived offenses and crimes without legal authority. A vigilante (from Spanish, Italian and Portuguese “vigilante”, which means "sentinel" or "watcher") is a person who ...

, such as ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' and ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

''. In an interview with Film Threat, DeLiso listed some of the influences, which included '' Assault on Precinct 13'' and ''

Scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telepathic ...

'', ''

Kill Bill ''Kill Bill: Volume 1'' is a 2003 American martial arts film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. It stars Uma Thurman as the Bride, who swears revenge on a team of assassins (Lucy Liu, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah, and Vivica A. Fox) an ...

'', Marvel and DC comic book movies, ''

Clerks A clerk is someone who works in an office. A retail clerk works in a store. Office holder Clerk(s) may also refer to a person who holds an office, most commonly in a local unit of government, or a court. *Barristers' clerk, a manager and administ ...

'', ''

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

'' and ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

''.

Cast

''Hectic Knife'' stars

as the titular anti-hero Hectic Knife, and co-stars Georgia Kate Haege as Frannie Glooper,

JJ Brine JJ Brine (born Jonathan Friel) was an American visual artist and gallerist. The artist went by the title "The Crown Prince of Hell." He operated and curated the Vector Gallery in New York City, which drew attention and critical response for its ...

as the Piggly Doctor, and

John Munnelly John Munnelly (died 18 October 1941) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. A farmer, he was a county councillor before being elected, on his fourth attempt, to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil Teachta Dála (TD) for the Mayo North constituency ...

as Link.

Production

In 2010, while Litvin and DeLiso had begun working on the feature-length, super-hero comedy ''Hectic Knife,'' which starred Litvin as a knife-wielding vigilante determined to rid his city of crime. DeLiso and Litvin finished ''Hectic Knife'' in 2015, and secured distribution via

shortly after its completion. ''Hectic Knife'' premiered at Druid Underground Film Festival in Brooklyn, New York at a screening hosted by

co-founder

Lloyd Kaufman Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz (producer), Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director ...

Reception

''Hectic Knife'' was on Film Threat's Top 10 Films list of 2017. The film has been reviewed as "Powerfully original - something no one’s ever seen!” by

Jack Perez Jack Perez is an American film and television director, screenwriter and film professor. He directed the comedy-thriller '' Some Guy Who Kills People'' executive produced by John Landis. He also directed '' Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus'', wh ...

(''Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus'', ''Wild Things 2'') and "Weird in all the right ways!” by

Chris Gore Christopher Patrick Gore (born September 5, 1965) is an American speaker and writer on the topic of independent film. Life and career Gore was born in Big Rapids, Michigan and attended Kimball High School in Royal Oak, Michigan. Gore is the head ...

from Film Threat. Anthony Ray Bench from Film Threat scored it 8 out of 10 and said the film is "insane, fun, hilariously random, and it boldly spits in the face of conventional storytelling".

Release

''Hectic Knife'' was released on Blu-ray on January 9, 2018 and is also available for streaming on

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

and Troma Now and released on Special Edition VHS and DVD

References

External links

* * {{IMDb title, 3106878 2016 films American superhero films American independent films American black comedy films American vigilante films 2016 black comedy films 2016 independent films Superhero black comedy films 2010s superhero comedy films 2010s American films