An exploitation movie about people lacking even a modicum of common sense — in this case '50s era Southerners — writer/director Deborah Kampmeier's "Hounddog" is an insult to its audience.
Nevermind the actors who signed on for Kampmeier's abysmal experiment.
The independent movie has already cost former child star Dakota Fanning her career; that may be the best thing to come out of it.
Fanning plays Lewellen, the put upon prepubescent daughter of an abusive father called "Daddy" (David Morse).
Lewellen fancies herself a singer, and uses her
a cappella rendition of Elvis Presley’s version of "Hounddog" as a way of introducing herself to anyone who’ll listen, including her best friend Buddy (Cody Hanford).
Fire and brimstone come in the form of snakes that take on a literal phallic meaning, along with lightening that strikes Daddy dumb as he rides a tractor during a storm.
Daddy ain't too bright.
If the film’s hints at pedophile incest weren’t enough, Lewellen must suffer being raped by a local teen boy whose acne-covered face adds another layer of grossness to the attack.
Every cliché stereotype of Southern dysfunction is on display as a substitute for an actual story.
The moronic "Hounddog" lyric, "You ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine," somehow sums up this dreadful movie.
Pshaw.
Not Rated. 98 mins.
