Vigilantism, Big Pharma, & the Opioid Epidemic Collide in PAINKILLER w/ Mark Savage and Bill Oberst, Jr.

On this edition of Parallax Views, in cult filmmaker Mark Savage's latest film Painkiller the trappings of vigilante thrillers like the Death Wish and Punisher franchises collide with the role of big pharma in America's opioid epidemic. Inspired in part by Mark's co-writer Tom Parnell's grief over the loss of a loved one to opioid addiction, the movie tells the story of Bill Johnson (character actor Bill Oberst, Jr.; Jason Zada's Take This Lollipop; Rob Zombie's 3 from Hell; and TV's Criminal Minds and Scream Queens) and his violent, one-man crusade against big pharma and "legalized pushers" leading him to the corrupt Dr. Alan Rhodes (Michael Paré; Eddie and the Cruisers; Streets of Fire; The Philadelphia Experiment). Turns out Rhodes is out to obtain the patent for a valuable drug that could be used to revolutionize heart treatments into another painkiller that he hopes will make him massive profits, but when Bill catches wind of his plot the two are brought into a final showdown.

Director Mark Savage and star Bill Oberst, Jr.  join us to discuss Painkiller in-depth including the director-actor relationship and how Bill approached the role of a father grieving the loss of his daughter's death at the hands of opioid addiction; class privilege, money, influence, and corruption; the Sackler family; the shocking facts Mark uncovered about the opioid epidemic; Bill's radio monologues in the film and keeping them from going into Rush Limbaugh or Alex Jones-style theatrics; Oliver Stone's Talk Radio; drug companies and power; the War on Drugs and the scapegoating of addicts; society and how morality is applied differently to the poor than the rich (including those who go to jail and those who don't); dealing with a serious topic like opioid addiction within the frame of a melodramatic genre move or exploitation film; Roger Corman's comments on exploitation films and how all films are exploitative; the vigilante film as a genre; the creation of characters in films; Mark and Bill's previous collaboration Stressed to Kill and how it differs from Painkiller (also addressing criticisms that Stressed to Kill had Trump/MAGA overtones); putting messages into films while making films that are entertaining and not heavy-handed; the potential classism and elitism of the "exploitation film" as classification; Titantic as an exploitation film; the Charles Bronson vehicle 10 to Midnight and having a bleeding-heart politics but find catharsis in the vigilante film as fantasy; comparing and contrasting Bill's portrayal of the lead in Painkiller to playing legendary sci-fi author Ray Bradbury on stage; Bill's thoughts on being human and the "monsters" within us all; the research Mark did into skullduggery and corruption around patent laws and the use of it as a plot device in the film; trying to present all the points-of-view on the opioid epidemic within the story and dialogue of Painkiller; Bill's hope the film will unsettle the certainty of viewer's own convictions; Bill's latest project The Spiritual Value of Horror documentary; the exercise of corrupt power and the need to counteract it with citizen power, communicating grey areas and unresolved issues in Painkiller; Mark's upcoming films Pond Scum, Bring Him Back Dead, and Hell's Coming for You, and more!

You can watch Painkiller through a Screambox subscription or via Screambox on Amazon

Check out our sponsor Christopher Bell's new short film Trammell at https://slamdance.com/watch/trammel/ or https://www.youtube.com/user/slamdance