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Strong and Moving!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

The acting in this movie is really good.

This documentary is about Jonathon Sharkey, a self-professed vampire, Satanist and candidate for governor of Minnesota. This documentary consists of either following Jonathon about as he talks and expounds ad nauseum. Later in the film, the documentarians have associates talk about him--what they think of him as a person, as a candidate and about his emotional state.Through the first half or so of the film, I was frankly annoyed. Jonathon appeared to be a nothing--a loser who would do anything to get attention. So, having the documentary film makers and others heaping attention on him only solidified his sick view of himself and the world. I was about ready to turn it off I was so bored...and annoyed.However, later in the film, the film makers began to dig into his REAL personal life and past and it became more interesting. Part of this was because how incredibly dishonest and delusional he had been in the film. Part of it was because we finally got to hear from others who were NOT about to fall down and worship at "the first church of Jonathon"! In this latter portion, his friends and ex-friends describe him like he has Multiple Personality Disorder (now called Dissociative Identity Disorder), he is much more accurately diagnosed as having a Histrionic Personality Disorder with Delusional features. In other words, he has a pathological need for attention, as he's willing to do anything to get attention--even if it ultimately hurts him or those around him. Some reasons for this is that he appeared extremely uncomfortable when he was not THE center of attention, he behaved very provocatively to get attention, has great difficulties with relationships (either assuming he is much closer to people than he really is or disconnects too quickly from others, as his own needs supersede all others) and is very, very theatrical--like he is performing to impress and please others. And,. because he is so deluded, he confabulates or makes up things to impress others--and may not actually realize, at least in many cases, that this is NOT reality.Some sad but poignant moments occur late in the film where Jonathon spends the last few minutes of the film talking to the audience. He is on stage here, THE center of attention as he talks about his philosophy of life (vague as it is) and he invites everyone out there to contact him!! Talk about a Histrionic Personality!! Overall, this is a well-made and constructed film but probably won't appeal to most people because Jonathon is so annoying and shallow. However, for psychotherapists and the very oddly curious, this would probably be an excellent and interesting film. Just be forewarned--a little of this man goes a very long way.

What a sad, sad story. Impaler tells the story of Jonathan Sharkey. Sharkey, for those as in the dark as I was, ran for the governor of Minnesota a few years ago as a self professed vampire and Satanist. I was impressed with director W. Tray White's work on the film. He sets up the movie to initially draw the viewer's sympathy. I admit that at first I found myself caring for Sharkey even though he was obviously crazy as a loon. It's painfully obvious that Sharkey has no idea about politics (impaling criminals?), vampirism (a hickey on the arm is not feeding on blood), or Satanism. But White gives him the rope and Sharkey gleefully hangs himself with it.However, once White's got you sucked in (pardon the pun), he switches tone to reveal what a scum his subject really is. And by the time I found out that Sharkey had kids from a previous marriage that he refuses to see or support or that he had outstanding arrest warrants in Indiana, I was ready to string him up myself. White's finale – allowing Sharkey a few minutes to sum up the movie and his life – is brilliant. It serves to drive home the insanity of what came before. In short, Sharkey was, is, and probably always will be nothing but a fraud who needs some serious help from the mental health community.But the film goes beyond the campaign, vampirism, and Satanism. Much of Impaler is an indictment against American pop culture. The insanity uncovered in Impaler includes our celebrity driven society that will give someone like Sharkey a platform to demonstrate his insanity for the bemusement of the masses. It becomes painfully obvious quite early on that Sharkey's not operating with a full deck. The lengths this man will go for attention are staggering. And it's deplorable the way the American press feeds the egos of these people. I can easily see how Sharkey might get some time and attention from The National Enquirer or even The Daily Show, but Sharkey actually made it to Fox News and CNN. These are supposed to be legit news gathering organizations. Watching Tucker Carlson interview Sharkey was more like watching something I would have expected from Stephen Colbert. No one was taking Sharkey seriously except for Sharkey. It's all really sad.

I saw this at the Stamp Student Union at the U.of Maryland and it was nothing that I expected it to be. The main subject is Jonathon "The Impaler" Sharkey, a self professed Satanist and Vampire running for Governor in Minnesota with his main policy being the impalement of criminals. I had never seen a documentary done in this format and style of pacing. At first it seemed like there was no clear narrative tool used and the scenes look to be a scattered collection of arbitrary clips. However, towards the last half of the movie you are sucked into the story and everything gels together and starts to make sense. Nothing about this movie is "in your face", everything is subtle. Subtle messages about America's obsession with fame pop up now and again. Subtle messages about mental illness and child abuse seem to be hidden throughout. The soundtrack is very well done and unexpected for a documentary on this subject matter. The filmmakers shot and edited in a very anti Hollywood style which indicates to me that it was a deliberate narrative tool used to humanize a fame and power hungry cartoon like subject.I was laughing one minute, then a couple minutes later I was recoiling. I found myself routing for the subject one second, and then hating him the next. Just when I was about to get bored the director would throw in a twist to the story and before long the documentary turned into a mystery. Impaler is subtly funny, dark and, full of sardonic twists and questions left unanswered. The ending is unexpected and extremely powerful. Impaler made me think about it and talk about it with my friends through the rest of the night. For me that is a sign of a well crafted documentary.While the production budget of Impaler seemed to be small, I found it to be much more engaging and captivating then well known and well funded documentaries with huge marketing campaigns behind them like Jesus Camp and Darkon. Sadly this little gem of a movie will probably go into DVD oblivion without ever finding the cult audience it deserves.8 out of 10 stars from me.