I first became aware of low-budget filmmaker Victor Bonacore when he released Diary of a Deadbeat: The Story of Jim VanBebber back in 2015. Being a huge fan of VanBebber’s work, I came away thoroughly impressed with Bonacore’s warts and all documentary about the famously volatile western Ohio native. So, when I saw that Bonacore was releasing his first feature-length narrative film, I knew I had to see it. Thrust pushes the boundaries of what some might deem to be good taste, but who wants good taste in a micro-budgeted exploitation flick?
Thrust takes place in a garish post-apocalyptic punk rock dystopia where most of the world’s men have died (maybe from a plague? I don’t know, it doesn’t really matter). The ones that remain are generally either enslaved or hunted and killed. We follow lovers Aloe (Erin Brown aka Misty Mundae) and Vera (Allison Egan) as they are forced to abandon their idyllic life of smoking weed, rocking out to the last band on Earth, and attending wrestling shows when they hear that the notorious Dirtbag Mike (Michael Shershenovich) has escaped captivity. Aloe has a history with the scummy and depraved murderer, and so the couple set out to kill him. If they can score some of the elusive drugs known as “loud” in the process, all the better.
Bonacore and Brown wrote the script and based it on Hannah Neurotica’s short prose piece, "Shitfucked: A Vile Love Story." I enjoyed how the narrative sort of meanders around this weird world, giving us tangential moments with loads of colorful characters. The internal logic of the premise isn’t strictly followed, but I doubt that will truly matter to folks that enjoy this type of movie. The dialog isn’t what I’d call naturalistic, but it is effective and gleefully outrageous. The structure is fairly episodic as we alternately follow the lovers and Dirtbag Mike until they finally meet in the bloody climax. Don’t mistake any of these aspects for amateurism, though. The script aims to luridly entertain and create a distinctive world, and it’s perfect in that regard.
Performances are on point for what you’d expect from this sort of movie. A couple of actors in minor roles are maybe a little wooden, but those off-key notes are absolutely swallowed up by the overall strange symphony presented onscreen. Brown and Egan are totally believable together and serve as the perfect chauffeurs through this gonzo reality. Shershenovich owns the screen in an appropriately menacing and physical turn. Bonacore also brings some comic relief in front of the camera as the squirrely Punk Kid. Aaron Williams is endearing as the earnest and fatherly Pappy. Beloved scream queen Linnea Quigley furnishes genre cred in an extended cameo as the feral Mother Nature. Many other roles are filled out with ostentatious wrestlers and tough-as-nails roller derby girls, all of which contribute to the movie’s very particular flavor.
The art direction and production design of Thrust are impactful. The costumes are beautifully loud. Sets are aptly dilapidated and grimy. As quirky and unhinged as this world is, it’s a testament to the crewmembers’ skill that the experience is so immersive. Even when I recognized landmarks (the film was shot around my stomping grounds of Dayton, Columbus, and Yellow Springs), the illusion of a fallen civilization was never broken for me. DP Frau Dietrich Semicolon captures all of this with an exploratory style that frequently places us right in the action. Often, we are gifted with shot compositions that bring to bear both the lush but grim backgrounds and the often repulsive subject matter.
Speaking of gross stuff, Thrust is not for the faint of heart. There is plenty of nudity, drug use, explicit language, and graphic violence. A couple of scenes feature necrophilia and coprophilia. The gore effects are solid, though I wouldn’t necessarily describe this as a splatter film. My favorite gag involves some roller skates and a dude’s noggin.
Dirty/Clean’s score is sometimes ominous, sometimes trippy, and always cool. Music in general is one of the film’s many strengths. The soundtrack is littered with raucous songs that ensure we never forget that this is one punk as fuck flick. Additionally, Midnight Creeps, my new favorite band, put on a small handful of performances within the film’s diegesis.
Victor Bonacore’s Thrust is a gem of a homemade underground film. It fully develops its ruined and bonkers world in just a hair under two hours while never losing momentum. It won’t be for everyone, especially the easily offended, but certain genre fans will surely lap this up with vigor. Thrust was screened at festivals in 2022 and now it’s being distributed on disc by Culture Shock, one of Vinegar Syndrome’s partner labels. The blu ray features a heaping helping of special features. Highly recommended for fans of Pink Flamingos, Deadbeat at Dawn, Street Trash, and Bad Girls.
Michael Cavender