FEATURE FILM REVIEW
TOXIC SH!T
A film about the hidden dangers under and around the places we call home.
THE SITUATION IS beyond ridiculous, and even in the glaring black and white of statistical records, denials and cover-ups are still taking place. Men, women, and children are all facing health problems and various cancers because of a massive mission to deceive the public and save face. We're talking large-scale nuclear contamination of land and water, and nobody wants to take responsibility. Toxic Sh!t is the perfect title for this film not just because of contamination but also the toxic people involved.
TOXIC SH!T MAY NOT SURPRISE YOU BUT WILL STILL NO DOUBT SHOCK YOU.
Written by Stacey Stone and Diane Mellen, Toxic Sh!t is the dictionary definition of what not to do if you're a major corporation because eventually, everything comes out in the wash. In the late fifties, there was a nuclear meltdown on the outskirts of a small town. Mini Valley took the brunt of the contamination but what makes this more of a horror story is that the whole thing was hushed over and covered up. Not just for a year, or five years, but for over twenty! That's decades of contamination while the whole time people began getting sick. And still, no admittance of a problem or much of anything. Just denial and denial all the way until it couldn't be denied anymore. This is some serious stuff that, sadly, many people won't be surprised at, and the problem doesn't stop at Simi Valley. The fallout (pun intended) stretches far beyond, and Stacey Stone and Diane Mellen have no problem asking the questions and shedding much-needed light on the whole situation. Toxic Sh!t may not surprise you but will still no doubt shock you.
TOXIC SH!T IS AS REAL AS IT GETS.
The narrative pacing of Toxic Sh!t is worth mentioning. Yes, as you would expect, the bulk of the movie interviews, Q&A under a narrative dialog, except in this case, the stories and interviews take precedence. There is even a celebrity appearance of sorts that adds a substantial amount of credibility to this production. Not that it needs anymore because Toxic Sh!t is as real as it gets. You may have (probably have) heard lots of stories in lots of movies that inspire both anger and sadness but here, because this is an indie film, you know for sure everything is real. Everyday people telling their stories. Especially anger-inducing is when the film deals with the children. But, hell, it's all anger-inducing, and that's the point.
THIS IS HOW AND WHAT AN EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY IS SUPPOSED TO BE LIKE.
Pretty much everyone knows this format by now, and Toxic Sh!t is more of the same. But this is one of those documentaries that is actually good. Not some YouTube video with a novice video maker calling the shots. This is how and what an excellent documentary is supposed to be like. Stacey Stone and Diane Mellen knock it out of the park once again, proving that real life can be much more brutal than any fiction.
Callum Reds TRAILER: Toxic Sh!t from Stacey Stone on Vimeo. DROP A COMMENT, RATE THE MOVIE, OR SHARE?
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