DEBORAH GOODRICH INTERVIEW ON/ABOUT 'REMOTE CONTROL'

REMOTE CONTROL Review... plus Interview with Jennifer Goodrich

“Working on REMOTE CONTROL was great fun,” writes actress Deborah Goodrich. “Jeff Lieberman truly had a vision of a retro 50's era sci-fi world that he recreated visually in every way, from sets to costumes.”

And we get more than one era as aliens control people’s minds by turning them into killers, using the titular movie-within-a-movie, rented in a video store, also providing a cultural glimpse into the 1980’s, which was, ironically, the same decade the film was made.

“It was in the air,” Jeff Lieberman says of the home video boom in the REMOTE CONTROL Special Edition commentary. “And it was what everybody was thinking about… It was so culturally indicative of the times.” A theme also fitting LSD during the psychedelic 1960’s, inspiring Jeff’s cult classic BLUE SUNSHINE twelve years before REMOTE CONTROL (basically a proverbial remake), in which a particular batch of acid causes lethal insanity ten years later.

The captivating Deborah Goodrich

But here the fallout occurs right away. Lieberman takes the “Home Video Invasion” literally: the term alone inspired this cult gem, where aliens have altered a cheesy 1950’s science fiction film to bring the audience into the story itself... While watching the video at home, rented in various video stores… including the main location where our hero Cosmo, played by Kevin Dillon, works… people see themselves in a scene of the 1950's space movie they're watching, becoming hypnotized psychotics.

And science fiction isn’t the only attribute of REMOTE CONTROL. Throughout most of the film, Dillon’s Cosmo… much like Zalman King in BLUE SUNSHINE… is the “Wrong Man” wanted by police for various murders, giving it a Film Noir vibe to boot. And with the spacey outfit worn by Deborah's beautiful and intrepid ingénue Belinda Watson, Jeff turns the 1980’s into its own form of nostalgic phenomena.

Kevin Dillon as the leading man

“Not only did we wear futuristic clothes for the entire shoot,” Deborah continues. “We actually wore the SAME clothes for the entire shoot. We must have had a few copies for hygiene alone!”

Deborah Winters from Blue Sunshine in background

Along with Dillon and Goodrich is a small but important part for the soon-to-be famous Jennifer Tilly, making the most of her unique voice and bubbly persona, up against a handsome and vicious villain, played by real life champion skier Frank Beddor while Cosmo and his sidekick, Christopher Wynne’s Georgie, eavesdrop into her bedroom – figuring out the danger of this video tape called REMOTE CONTROL, created at a giant lab run by Bert Remsen's Bill Denver...

Thus the movie-within-the-movie, and the movie we’re watching... all about that movie... is full of creative, suspenseful intrigue and gun blasting action. A no holds barred double-whammy throwback that’s unique and creative, shocking and, like Lieberman’s other projects including the aforementioned BLUE SUNSHINE and also SQUIRM, JUST BEFORE DAWN and SATAN’S LITTLE HELPER, it's thoroughly creepy and horrifying.

Deborah Goodrich in REMOTE CONTROL

But what sets REMOTE CONTROL apart is the endless array of background tapes and posters within several video store locations: a visual treasure hunt for pop culture fanatics to watch again and again, and then some.

Score: ***1/2

Deborah Goodrich finishes: “The cast was wonderful to work with, as was Jeff. In terms of the action scenes, well, suffice it to say we didn't need to go to the gym during the shoot…

And working on a low budget movie can be an intimate and bonding experience, a feeling of being in it together. I feel very grateful to have been a part of this film.” So do yourself a favor and order the limited $24.95 BLU RAY or $19.95 DVD from Jeff Lieberman's personal site (a super deal compared to the $80 price on Amazon) by CLICKING THIS LINK. You’ll get an extremely unique cinematic experience with a crisp transfer and insightful director commentary loaded with inspiration, information, and sporadic tips for budding young filmmakers!