Description

What has amputated limbs, third-degree burns, a throat full of windshield glass and an enthusiasm that can withstand all the fractured vertebrae that life has to offer? A New Zealand daredevil! Roaring straight out of the kiwi counter-culture like a flaming tire smashing through a suburban living-room window, this insane “nearly semi-true” story about NZ’s most reckless stuntman will rivet your jaw to the ground and skid a cycle into your face, all with a giddy joie-de-vivre that will win you over within seconds. Meet Randy Campbell (Chris Stapp), an ambitious pain-loving idealist who dreams to become his country’s most notorious stuntman. He’s the latest in a long line of Campbells who were legends in the field. The matter that each of his daredevil relatives died horrible deaths doesn’t faze him in the slightest. Randy soon joins forces with mean-spirited prima donna stunt maverick Dick Johansonson (Matt Heath). Dick earns his moniker by doing everything in his power to bring disaster into Randy’s path. Luck appears to be inexplicably on Campbell’s side, though the same can’t be said for his team of extremely unfortunate associates, loved ones and incompetent stunt coordinators who might as well simply be referred to as “innocent bystanders” in a universe of rocket cars and mutilation!


If Jackass were a narrative feature directed by Peter Jackson in his Bad Taste days after a weekend spent watching Goodbye Pork Pie and a slew of ’80s Hal Needham films, you would have something like Devil Dared Me To -– an inspired “stunts gone horribly wrong” comedy scattershot with wicked splatter surprises. The Randy Campbell character is the brainchild of star/director/co-writer Chris Stapp and co-star/co-writer/co-producer Matt Heath, who can perhaps best be described as the NZ equivalent to South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. The pair rocketed to infamy through their notorious late-night guerrilla comedy showBack of the Y Masterpiece Television, in which the Campbell figure and his hugely unlucky associates were recurring characters. Back of the Y offended legions while winning the hearts and minds of many more, and Devil Dared Me To, which won’t be opening in NZ until October, is primed to take things to an explosive new height. It’s raunchy, violent and tasteless, yet at the same time there’s an endearing sweetness at its core that will charm any audience, making it one of the nastiest and most unusual feel-good flicks out there. Besides, any film whose love interest is a gorgeous tomboy named Tragedy has got to be adored!

—Mitch Davis

“Total comic abandon. There’s nothing [Stapp] seems unwilling to try in his attempts to make you laugh or throw up, or in the best moments, both at once.” - Moriarty, AINT IT COOL

Website

http://www.devildaredmeto.com/

Credits

Director: Chris Stapp
Screenplay: Chris Stapp, Matt Heath
Cast: Chris Stapp Matt Heath Andrew Beattie Bonnie Soper Phil Brough
Producers: Matt Heath, Karl Zohrab, Ant Timpson
Distributor: Headstrong