Review: Dear God No! [2012]

Sometimes I get so excited over a movie it’s nothing short of a letdown when I finally am able to see it. I can think of a dozen or so movies in last decade that the official trailer was better than the actual film.

I started worrying that this would be the case for Director James Bickert’s old school exploitation throwback “Dear God No!”  Months ago I saw the trailer for the film while browsing movie sites. From the beginning I knew this had to be something special. I’ve been fortunate enough to speak with the director a few different times about getting a copy of the official retail DVD, he came through as promised. So, could it have possibly lived up to my expectations?

Oh hell yes.

A blood thirsty Biker gang on the run, leave a trail of death and destruction across the south. Looking to lay low after a murder, the gang head out to the country side. They plan a home invasion, but quickly find out they have stumbled into trouble themselves. Genetic mutations, big foot, Nazi’s, sex, and grizzly deaths all assault the viewer’s senses. In what is without a doubt, the most authentic love letter to 70’s exploitation I’ve ever seen.

So much has been written about the new school efforts to create a film with the flavor and feel of the old school Grindhouse films. I believe where most these new efforts go wrong is concentrating way too much on the aesthetic of the old Grindhouse movies. Things like film scratches, choppy editing, and color grading take a precedent over the actual content of the movie.

I truly believe what writer/director Bickert has done with the film is the closest thing you’re going to get to the authentic 70’s fair. Not only does this film look like it was shot in the 70’s, but the story is so bat shit crazy it could have just as easily been written during the heyday of maverick film making as well.

The DVD is feature loaded, with an anamorphic 16:9 transfer from the original 16mm film negative.  There are commentaries, which are as funny as informative, a couple of entertaining promos, Art and still slide show that is all kinds of awesome, as well as 6 Easter eggs that are well worth the search. It all comes packaged in your standard DVD case with very cool cover art by the super talented movie artist “The Dude.”

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I whole heartily recommend this film, and will go out there as far as to say it’s the best damn thing I’ve seen independent wise this whole year. Finding a copy could be a problem. Although Bickert has worked tirelessly over the last year to get this on the street it is selling out fast on Amazon, as well as Bickert’s ebay store page. My suggestion, get your grubby paws on the official DVD release or the even rarer BluRay, It’s well worth the time and cash to track this gem down.

James Bickert was nice enough to answer a few questions I had after watching his film. The interview is below.

ElectroSchlock: How important was it for you to shoot your movie on actual film rather than the much easier and less expensive digital format?


James Bickert: We originally set out to make a lost film from 1973 so it was top priority. I had worked with 16mm quite a bit and became very excited when we scored an Arri camera that had been converted to Super 16mm which gives you a 35mm aspect ratio. Since I last used film in the 90s, Fuji stock has advanced quite a bit. You now have a wider range of exposure with less grain while still delivering that pleasing softness inherit to film. It's very rewarding shooting film no monitor and an A.C. riding piggyback on the D.P. so they can pull focus to 20 various marks on the lens to keep a long handheld scene in focus. You just feel like you are living the time period. I'm such a fanatic about old school exploitation that I really wanted to experience it as authentically as possible. I've been a drive-in junkie since I was a kid.

ElectroSchlock: Your entire crew of actors that make up the Biker Gang really look the part, they all look like they could be wild men in real life, were they hard to direct?

James Bickert: No not at all. The parts were written for them. We had a no beer and drugs on set rule. I knew it would be impossible for them. We shot so fast that anything they snuck in when I wasn't looking didn't have an effect on their high tolerance levels. They worked their asses off on both sides of the camera so I threw them a legendary wrap party.

ElectroSchlock: I know this film has been a labor of love for you. From script to screen how long did it take to make?

James Bickert: Script to screen took about 6 months. Then a year spent at festivals, working out International distribution legal matters and all the dead ends that you run up against with Domestic distributor's contracts. With a bigger budget and post production crew, I could streamline the whole process down to 4 months and still deliver the movies that I want to see.

ElectroSchlock: On the DVD you touch a little on the subject of how expensive it is to shoot on real film, and often had one take to make it right. Were there any scenes that took multiple takes?

James Bickert: We started out with a 1.5 to 1 ratio but a few actors became nervous once they heard the sound a film camera makes so we only really did 2nd takes when there were flubbed lines. 90% of what we shot is in the finished film. There is extended footage of Laura's death but it took the scene past a Herschell Gordon Lewis film and didn't fit the era. Most of the extra footage is boobs. My camera crew would often ignore me when I yelled cut during those scenes. (laughing)

ElectroSchlock: What can you tell us about the availability of DVD’s for sale, is this a limited production run and will there be multiple pressings if needed?

James Bickert: We're on our second run and I've added an Easter Egg for the trailer to Frankenstein Created Bikers. We shot it for Cannes pre-sales but investors wanted script control which just isn't an option to me. The current version with the black cover will be limited to 10,000 copies. The brown cover pressing was limited to 700. We also have a beautiful 1080p transfer on Blu-ray limited to 250 signed copies and a signed Blu-ray / DVD combo limited to 100 copies that we are selling at a fixed price on Ebay. It's a great transfer and the film itself takes up 19 GB on the disc!

Note: Big thanks, goes out to James Bickert for all his help with this review and interview.

As a side note I would like to take this opportunity to make a plead to the interweb community. Although you might have to wait a while for a copies of this movie to show up on amazon, I have to say it’s well worth the wait. Downloading this film really shouldn’t be an option. Beckert and company have spent a large part of their time, effort, and money to bring us this ultimate 70’s homage. Downloading this film only hurts the film makers, and prevents them from making more of these wonderful films to watch. So do the right thing and support regional independent film making at its best, and buy a copy!