A Crack in the Floor (Corbin Timbrook & Sean Stanek, 2000, USA)
Mario Lopez (of Saved By The Bell fame) stars in this oddball rural horror outing, which is fast becoming a late night cable staple. Mario plays Lehman, a young jerk who leads his equally jerky pot-smoking pals into the woods for a weekend getaway. After having a surreal run-in with a pair of chicken-raising rednecks played by Gary Busey and Rance Howard, they inadvertently trespass into the domain of Jeremiah (Rodger Hewlett), a mute, deranged backwoods religious fanatic.
Ever since he witnessed his mother (Tracy Scoggins in a flashback) raped and murdered by two other rednecks, Jeremiah has been holed up in his isolated cabin, studying the bible and murdering anyone who steps through his door. He also likes to hang out in the basement of his hovel and spy up through the titular crack whenever young couples are getting it on or when Lehman’s girlfriend, Heidi (Daisy McCrackin from Halloween: Resurrection) needs to change her clothes.
With this set-up, mayhem is bound to ensue, but co-directors Corbin Timbrook and Sean Stanek have other priorities. These two have more experience as actors than filmmakers, racking up credits in such series as "Tour of Duty" and "Renegade." Like a lot of other actors-turned-directors, they focus on performances over plot and pacing. Thus, pretty much all of the actors in A Crack in the Floor get a chance to, if not shine, at least call attention to themselves. Tracy Scroggins dresses up in Amish-style garb and takes a stab at a Southern accent. Daisy McCrackin narrates a tragic childhood memory. Bo Hopkins performs a lengthy death scene on the business end of a pitchfork. But, easily, it is Gary Busey who makes the most of this opportunity as Tyler Trout, deranged chicken farmer. Onscreen for maybe three minutes, dressed in a blood-spattered suit and toting an ax, Busey’s monologue is a major highlight::
"You’re lookin’ at the chickens. Well, that mangy ol’ maggot-eatin’ stray dog of mine had his way with the chickens and I had to get rid of a lot of ’em. It’s a shame. Would you like to snap one of ’em’s neck? I got a lot out in back. And the minute they die, you can smell the rabies leave their body. It’s spectacular."
With Busey accosting our heroes with such wacked-out intensity, the young thespians probably didn’t have to try hard to appear stunned.
Timbrook and Sanek seem more interested in making a deadpan comedy than a horror movie, and it’s on that level that A Crack in the Floor scores most of its points. And its "actor’s showcase" format generates its own brand of suspense. What’s coming next? A poetry recital? A little slapstick down at the police station? Yet another monologue? A Crack in the Floor has been trashed for not delivering the goods as a horror movie but there are lots of movies that do just that. There’s only one A Crack in the Floor, a movie clearly as nuts as its antagonist.
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