Threat Level Orange (2008) - By Brian Morton

Film Reviews: Threat Level Orange (2008) - By Brian Morton
Posted on Saturday, January 03, 2009 @ 20:02:53 Mountain Standard Time by Duane

Conspiracy theories are always great fun; whether they're so implausible that they're unbelievable or if it's just watching someone (who's usually a nut) try to convince you of a premise so wild that even the biggest liar wouldn't try it...you just have to love them! Well, a new movie, Threat Level Orange, takes a normal person, exposes him to these wild conspiracy theories and takes it all to a natural, albeit, extreme conclusion.

The hero of Threat Level Orange is just a normal guy, he heads down to the local video store to rent a movie, and, after expressing interest in Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9-11, is given a secret DVD by the store clerk. Well, who can resist a secret DVD? This particular DVD has evidence that the Bush Administration was actually behind the entire 9/11 tragedy and this sets our man off. Suddenly he's missing work so that he can stand on the street trying to get the rest of the world to 'see the light', in other words, he becomes one of those 'nuts' that we all see and ignore. The difference here is, he suddenly finds himself followed around by men in black suits and sun glasses, he tries to get to his friends for help, but, before anyone can get to him, he's caught and winds up in an orange jumpsuit with a burlap bag over his head!

Threat Level Orange takes those conspiracy theories that we've all heard (Building Seven was deliberately blown up, the terrorists were given flight clearance into New York airspace, the government allowed the attack to get us into a war in the Mid-East) and supposes what might happen if they were true and someone who wasn't seen as a 'crazy' tried to expose them. Threat Level Orange may be the first 9/11 comedy I've seen, and it's only partly comedy. Certainly it's comedic to see this poor bastard being chased around for watching a DVD, but there's a thread of scary truth here. After all, they say, where there's smoke, there's fire, and there is a ton of smoke around this topic, isn't there? I'm giving Threat Level Orange four out of four cigars, because I not only laughed out loud at point, but it also made me think about the topic too. You can find our more about Threat Level Orange by heading over to the Frozen State Productions web site. So, until next time, I'll be here peaking out my blinds, waiting for the men in black to visit me, until then, remember that just because the budget is low, doesn't make the movie bad!