Analysis
In a NUTshell (see what I did there), this film is about a man who gets his kicks from killing. His main targets tend to be Las Vegas hookers who are lured back to his pad and brutally murdered but to be honest he really isn't all that fussy. This film is a tiny bit similar to the French cult fly-on-the-wall film 'Man bites dog' but where that was more documentary, Nutbag's style is more contemporary.

Mack Hail's interpretation of a deranged serial killer is worryingly credible with his eyes almost glowing red whilst spouting his evil mumblings. Now I don't know whether Mack was asked specifically by the director to move in a certain style to enhance the weirdness of the character but you have got to see this guy walk. In one particular scene we witness the killer slip into a rage that see's him pace the floor and hammer on the door of his apartment. I don't think I have ever seen anyone move with such a strange Neanderthal stoop with knuckles almost brushing the ground as he walks. It sure adds an extra touch of freakishness to the character.

Mack aside, there is only one other main character to speak of and she is only in the film a couple of times. The intension is to stay as focused as possible on the period of time we spend with the killer. In this kind of film style there can only be two way's in which the audience's attention is grabbed. The first being that we feel some kind of sympathy with what the killer is going through and the events that lead to his mental unraveling, and the second being that we all just hate him and wish that he would get his in the end. The problem is that no matter how well the killer is played, the story just doesn't allow us to feel anything but numbness for the preceding's. OK so we get a certain amount of blood and gore to satisfy some no matter how benign the plot might be, but for those that like to get wrapped up in the story, you'll be left feeling hollow.

If I may draw the 'Man bites dog' comparison again I would have to say that the French film has one key point that raises it above Nutbag. As the film heads towards the finale we a treated to a much more satisfying climax from 'Man bites dog'. Nutbags ending was a major let down with no climax and no real point to the previous 90 minutes. Nutbag just seems to amble along at a geriatric pace injecting horror through out the preceding's via several, and quite honestly, brutal scenes of murder. If you like blood splattered scenes then I guess you will have a happy 90 minutes.

Key Area	Rating (out of 5)	Comment
Action	None	Defiantly not intended to be an action film.
Thrills/ Tension		The only tension comes from a couple of moments where the killer stalks his victims but these only happen a couple of times and are far too short to be of any real consequence.
Violence/ Gore		We are treated to a nice amount of blood and violence that is executed in a competent manner. The stand out scene would have to be the 'meat cleaver in the neck' shot, but you do get various stabbing's and blood soaked women to inject a little sickness.
Bare Flesh		A couple of the 'hooker' characters get their buoyancy aids out. From a purely artistic point of view it would have been nice to have seen a bit more of Renee Sloan who played Mandy, but life is full of little disappointments. The most graphic nudity (as in lower beards!) comes from magazine pictures that hang on the killers walls.
Plot		Perhaps the biggest let down of all. The films low moments (lots of pointless dialogue from the killer) unfortunately out way the high moments (murder and gore) making for a film that's pace is too slow.

Verdict Nutbag has a couple of good qualities, mainly the acting from the principal lead and the various scenes of carnage left by our killer, but these aside what we have is a slow story that never really has any direction. The ending is unsatisfying and smatterings of heavy and pointless dialogue slow the plot progression down. This is a low-budget offering so you can't expect massive production values but an interesting story is a must for any film, no matter what it's budget.

Movie Pictures (Click picture to enlarge)