Where exactly does one draw the line between genius and madness? For filmmaker Mike Mendez, the line exists somewhere down the middle of Reflections of Evil, the now-notorious film from underground director Damon Packard. In this episode of Certified Forgotten, Mendez joins the podcast to discuss his own career as a director and editor, as well as his enduring admiration for Reflections of Evil and the madcap message the film holds about commercial filmmaking run amok.
Bobby (Packard) is one of many lost souls on the streets of Los Angeles, wandering aimlessly from city center to suburbs as he hawks his $5 watches to whoever will buy them. Los Angeles is not a friendly city; Bobby finds himself in screaming matches with everyone from unhoused strangers to a pack of neighborhood dogs. But Bobby’s journey is only the beginning for writer-director Packard, who also uses Reflections of Evil as an Escape From Tomorrow-esque guerilla filmmaking project to explore the crushing cultural footprint of filmmakers like George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Is it effective? That’s something every moviegoer must decide for themselves.
In this short excerpt from the episode, Mendez shares how Reflections of Evil became an industry secret long before it broke through as a cult classic for dedicated cinephiles:
My friend, Dave Parker, who's another filmmaker-editor, had found this movie because he knew Damon Packard. And again, I don't know how much of this is true or lore or whatever, but this is at least my understanding of it. He was friends with Sylvester Stallone's son, Sage Stallone, and Sage got the brilliance, which I feel there's equal doses of brilliance and mental illness to this film. So I think he appreciated that.
The Reflections of Evil episode of the Certified Forgotten podcast with Mike Mendez is now available to stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, or the podcast platform of your choice.
