Tommy Wiseau’scult classicThe Roomis synonymous with many things. The concept of a movie so bad,it somehow circles back around to good; how to measure the worth of a poorly made film if its very terribleness brings people joy; and how can a film this atrocious truly exist? In the twenty years since its, at first, very uneventful debut,The Roombecame a midnight movie stapleand a “favorite” casualty of RiffTrax, a trio of formerMystery Science Theater 3000performers who mock modern movies.Greg Sestero, one ofThe Room’sactors, wrote a novel about his experiences that in turn inspiredThe Disaster Artist,an Oscar-nominated film adaptation starringJames Franco.The Roomwas even remadefor charity starring none other than multiple Emmy-nomineeBob Odenkirkin Wiseau’s role alongsideBella Heathcoateand horror maestroMike Flanagan.
Other cult classics with fervent fan bases, likeRocky Horror Picture Show, understood and followed the rules of coherent filmmaking.The Roomdidn’t know those rules existed and didn’t care. And for that attitude, people still unironically adore Wiseau’s strikingly odd creation. Just look at the mountain of memes, gif reactions, and how often fans incorporate the most egregious quotes into everyday conversation.
The Room’s legacy is the shadow in which a short film titledThe House That Drips Blood on Alexwas made. The twelve-minute venture stars Wiseau in some deliberately self-aware casting, but he had no hand in its creation; sketch comedian group Studio8, specifically writer-directorJared Richard,are at the creative helm. The horror-comedy short premiered onComedy Centralin 2010 and was hosted on the now defunct Atom website. Its cues and style are obviously based onThe Room, with Wiseau’s involvement making the homage unquestionable. With that in mind, the film is as absolutely wild as one could hope for.
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What Is ‘The House That Drips Blood on Alex’ About?
The bare bones thing called a “plot” concerns Wiseau’s character, Alex, who purchases a house from the shadiest real estate agent (Joey Greco) this side of Count Dracula himself. (Actually, Dracula would be more covert; this guy can’t stop evil cackling to save his life.) From the outside, the house looks ready to fall apart from a gentle breeze, and the interior is depressingly dilapidated. Most tellingly, the address is 3 Blood Street — and, no, it’s not pronounced “blood.” It’s “Blud” Street. That’s a very important distinction.
Worst of all, the house randomly drips blood on Alex’s white polo shirt the instant he walks through the door. Presumably, it’s falling from the ceiling, but as far as the audience knows, the blood — excuse me, “blud” — manifests from thin air. Nothing suspicious here, folks. Alex brushes off his friend’s concern with delightful cheer and congenial obliviousness (“it’s a leak,” he says, as well as “it tastes familiar” after he samples the thick red liquid) until his blood-drenched dreams, and blood-soaked mornings, force him to investigate the attic and discover the truth behind his nightmarish new residence.
True toThe Room’ssingularly dreadful style, the dialogue inThe House That Drips Blood on Alexis teeth-gratingly, face-palmingly atrocious. The acting is heinous enough to necessitate a viewer lying down on the floor for a few hours to recover; the camera angles are amateurishly dull; the audio levels distort when someone shouts; the editing’s as shot-reverse-shot uninspired, yet somehow confusing, as any film student’s first day on set if they had zero prior instruction. Because of this,The House That Drips Blood on Alexabsolutely succeeds in its goal ofpurposefully evokingThe Room, which is a respectable feat. Audiences could easily ascribe the entire film to Wiseau if they lacked the context surrounding its creation. Even the name recalls schlocky low-budget horror films, specificallyThe House That Dripped Bloodfrom British horror studio Amicus Productions.
In what might surprise those familiar withThe Room, Wiseau’s performance earns the most praise inAlex. Nothing about his instantly recognizable, half-slurring, oddly accented performance has changed sinceThe Room— heaven forbid. His presence is the most essential component ofAlex’s deranged charm, especially forThe Roomfans already predisposed to desire more content from Wiseau. His good-natured absurdism takes every narrative and stylistic hit and just keeps going. No line readings quite reach the lauded, lambasted infamy of “you’re tearing me apart, Lisa,” but several are contenders. There’s Wiseau muttering “I love ketchup so much” as a declarative aside; instructing his friend to “set the pizza party over there”; and furiously, exasperatedly exclaiming “there’s not such a thing as a s**t house, Thomas!” with drawn-out vowels. His screams of terror sound like an AI’s attempt at mimicking a Scream Queen actress. Whether Wiseau’s in on the joke isn’t clear, butAlexis truly some of his best work without any mockery, and there’s a general sense he’s enjoying himself.
Tommy Wiseau’s ‘The Room’ Is a Classic, Just Not the Way He Intended
Overall, althoughThe House That Drips Blood on AlexlacksThe Room’satrocious sincerity, it’s not a poor film beyond its deliberately dreadful style.The Roomdevotees will find much to cackle about for twelve minutes. What’s fascinating about comparingAlextoThe Roomis how trying to replicate the end result of Wiseau’s cult classic without the same formula actually throwsThe Roominto a more positive relief. From most accounts,Wiseau intended his avant-garde nonsenseto be a legitimate drama in the vein of classicJames Deanfilms. He rejected suggestions that would make the film more cinematically correct. He refused to compromise his vision, such as it was, even if the result was a catastrophe of calamitous proportions.Beyond the belly-busting laughs, that sincerity is part of whyThe Roomremains beloved in its own right. Viewers recognize and respect Wiseau’s passion, even though his intentions don’t magically transformThe Roominto a “good” movie.
The House That Dripped Blood on Alexlacks the same heart, but that’s not a critique or a fair comparison. It’s fascinating; forAlex’s creators to loveThe Roomenough to openly mimic Wiseau’s style and involve the man in a deliberate parody is its own kind of artistic commitment. They understand the mechanics behindThe Roomand achieved a humorous recreation deserving of cult classic status in a way that differs, but successfully echoes, its inspirations. (And remember: it’s “Blud Street,” not “Blood Street.")
For even more Tommy Wiseau, check out the trailer for his latest filmBig Sharkbelow.
