Originally published as part of the Amazing Fantasy Fest review on 411mania.com
Review by Bryan Kristopowitz
I think the best way to describe Special Needs Revolt is that it’s multiple things happening all at once. First, it’s a passion project for director Adrian Esposito. It’s a movie that he’s wanted to make for several years, and when all of the stars aligned (well, as much as “all the stars aligning” can happen in indie moviemaking), Esposito jumped at the chance to get it done. And when you watch Special Needs Revolt you can tell that it isn’t just another movie. There’s an obvious enthusiasm for the plot and everything else that comes through the screen.
Second, it’s a wonderful homage to the legendary indie movie outfit Troma. From the rapid fire “politically incorrect” jokes to the gross out jokes (for instance, there’s a pro wrestler character named Fartbomb, played by Mark Williams, that has just the nastiest farts imaginable. How many mainstream Hollywood movies feature a nasty fart/farting character in them? That’s been a Troma staple for decades now. There’s also a whole thing involving manatee love/sex that just wouldn’t fit in with any other kind of movie), to the wacked out performance of Bill Weeden playing a Donald Trump esque villain (Weeden’s President Kruger would definitely fit in nicely at Apocalypse, Inc.), to the many Troma elements that are actually in the movie (Lloyd Kaufman is in the movie, the great Debbie Rochon is in it, Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD has a cameo, the original Melvin, Mark Torgl, makes an appearance, there’s a snippet of music from the 1988 action classic Troma’s War, and the infamous Sgt. Kabukiman, NYPD car flip figures into the story. And those were the homage moments that I caught. I’m sure there are more), Special Needs Revolt might as well be a Troma movie.
Third, and this connects to the whole Troma part of the movie, Special Needs Revolt wears its politics very much on its sleeve. Special Needs Revolt isn’t interested in subtext and letting you figure out what it “might” be about. The plot of Special Needs Revolt involves Weeden’s President Kruger, a proud fascist and racist sack of garbage, using the powers of the federal government to denigrate and eliminate everyone that doesn’t fit the “Make America Straight Again” mold. If you aren’t a right-wing, heterosexual “Christian” you have no place in America. Racial minorities, LGBTQA+, the disabled, and loads of other “undesirables” are fair game for destruction. Standing in the way of the forces of darkness is a ragtag group of rebels led by Billy Bates (Nolan Tierce), a disabled man who just wants to live his life and has had enough of the crap that he’s had to put up with his whole life, from scumbags like Krueger and Billy’s racist grandmother. There are no “shades of gray” here when it comes to who you are supposed to root for and who you are supposed to despise (I mean, yeah, you laugh at Weeden’s Krueger, mostly because Weeden is funny, but you don’t root for him to win).
Fourth, it’s a political warning to the world. Take a look at what hardcore right wing political and social movements around the world advocate for. It’s always “we have to get rid of these undesirable people in order to achieve greatness” or “to get back to what we used to have,” which is typically a call to strengthening white supremacy. That kind of thing is all over the villains of Special Needs Revolt. Again, you’ll laugh at the antics of Bill Weeden’s President Kruger, but you will also become supremely uncomfortable at how what you see in the movie seems to be happening in the United States and all over the world (you will also see this kind of thing all over various social media platforms. If the bad guys “used to hide,” they aren’t hiding who they are anymore). Is the world that Special Needs Revolt depicts and advocates against the world that you want to live in?
And fifth and finally, it’s the only movie where the disabled characters are not only the heroes/the good guys, they are the badass, ass kicking, one liner spitting heroes. They are the action heroes the world needs and the only people capable of meeting the moment. Special Needs Revolt is also one of the few (it may even be the only one) where disabled people are seen as, well, people. Disabled people like to swear and drink alcohol and have sex and masturbate like anyone else, and you see that depicted in Special Needs Revolt. That’s awesome. You could say that Special Needs Revolt is a rallying cry to the world: start showing disabled people as people. And, again, that’s awesome.
Now, the version that screened at Amazing Fantasy Fest wasn’t the absolute final version of the movie. It had some temporary music in it that’s going to be replaced by an original score from the great Armand John Petri, there are some very brief moments of soft sound, and the movie does lose a bit of steam in the middle (it picks up again but the lull, at least to me, was noticeable). The movie could use some trimming, some tightening here and there, just to make it move faster. At the same time, those issues really don’t hinder the overall movie watching experience. There may be ways to make Special Needs Revolt better, but at this moment in time, it’s almost like the movie is a perfect object. I don’t want director Esposito to change anything. Special Needs Revolt is very much what it is. It’s a transgressive masterpiece. It’s brilliant.
I can’t wait for Special Needs Revolt to be fully unleashed upon the world, in whatever final form it eventually takes. It’s a movie that needs to be seen, experienced, and fully embraced by the movie watching public, and I think it will. Definitely make an effort to see Special Needs Revolt if it’s playing at a film festival near you.
Rating: 10/10
Espocinema 
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