I'll Be There with You

I'll Be There with You: 3 out of 10: This movie is a mess. It threatens to become an interesting mess; but alas, it is in reality just a mess.

The first clue something is wrong, is this movie’s supposed genre. Apparently, it is a horror movie. I’ll Be There With You is no more a horror movie than Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was. It has horrific elements certainly, but it is more of a drama and a relationship drama at that. Whether director Akihiro Kitamura meant to make a horror film or the marketing department at Celebrity Video Distribution simply choose to label it as a horror film is unknown.

Now what director Kitamura meant by this film is somewhat of a mystery; it is all over the place. There is a relationship drama, bar pick-ups, date rape, non-date rape, strange computer graphics from someone’s Commodore Amiga, escaped criminals killing, Japanese nerd comic relief, and Daniel Baldwin.

Indeed a bloated Daniel Baldwin gives the best performance of the film. That alone should be condemning with faint praise. In fairness, the ladies in the cast (Adarsha Benjamin, Michelle Lawrence and Elisabeth Donaldson) are decent if somewhat unpolished, but the male lead Akihiro Kitamura is a black hole of charisma. Kituamura’s tearful denouement is cinematic pain defined. (I would blame the director but they are the same guy.)

With its lack of focus and bizarre computer generated sequences I’ll Be There With You reminds me of that mess Demonlover. But with a lower budget and less talent on both sides of the camera. Overall I’ll Be There With You’s mess is even less enjoyable.

There was potential for a couple of good films in this mess. Unfortunately potential and reality never share the same screen.



"Driving through the Uncanny Valley"


"No this is not a screen shot from Doom on the Amiga (Yes I know Doom came out well after the Amiga's release)... it is a screenshot from I'll Be There With You"



For a more adult unedited version of this review please click this link.



Please click here to go back to the index of Movie Reviews and Actress Profiles



For full size representation click twice on images below (Takes you off site so use back button to return to Illustrated Journal of Cinematic Diversions)








.