Back when I worked in a funny-book store, there was a “mentally challenged” fellow who I will only refer to as “Brian.” Now, Brian was an unusual fellow who struck me not as someone who was, in fact, “special,” but someone so hyper-intelligent that his brain could not properly contain, or for that matter translate, all of the knowledge he absorbed through the years. Consequentially, all of his social skills went right out the window. In between his rants on super heroes and Star Trek, Brian would go on and on about things like how quantum theory closely related to cinnamon toast and how algebra is really the cause of gingivitis. One day while I was restocking Groo: The Wanderer, Brian came in for his weekly stash, carrying a leather bound journal. This glorious tome was “Brian’s Journal.”

Contained within these pages were assorted child-like drawings of characters names Bat-Superman, Wondergreen Lantern Woman, Superbat Robin and so on and so forth. It was all kinds of cute, really. Oh, and in case you were wondering… yes. Yes, they all had their own power rings, too. Of course they had their own power rings. Anyway, in between these pages of super heroes were other pages. Scarier pages. These pages were filled from edge to edge with the tiniest writing I ever did see. These writings were separated on each page in rows, sometimes grouped together in blocks, sometimes separated by large drawings of spirals or whatever. It was kind of like John Doe’s journals in Se7en, now that I think about it, just with more DC characters. Thankfully, I never gazed too long at theactual words, fearing that he might have accidentally stumbled upon that specific combination which would drive a man insane just from reading them. (Hey, you never know.) That journal, minus the super heroes, I am sure resembles the average grocery list for director/filmmaker Craig Baldwin.

Spectres Of The Spectrum strikes me more as an art student’s final than an actual unique “avant-garde” voice. Using mostly “found footage” and clips from TV shows and movies, filmmaker Baldwin constructs a story about a quasi-post apocalyptic society where a band of video rebels, including father/daughter team Boo-Boo and Yogi, find themselves attempting to thwart the direction civilization is headed via a “New Electromagnetic Order.” The secret to regaining control somehow involves Boo-Boo’s grandmother and an old science themed television show on which she once appeared. Oh, and an Indian magician. And a space faring camper. And clips from Buck Rogers.

Baldwin uses this narrative not only as an excuse to cram in as many heady scientific concepts as he possibly can – presumably to show off how much more he knows than you - but also as a vehicle to explain the history of various media, such as broadcasting and the Internet. All in all, some intriguing concepts that never quite gel.

There’s no other way to say it. This movie is downright tedious. The level of pretension is even too much for me to take at times, and frankly that says a lot. (EDITOR: It sure as hell does!) It’s not that I “don’t get it.” I freakin’ HATE it when people say, (as I pinch my nose) “Well, you just don’t get it.” Well, I get it, bucko. I just don’t want it. It gives me a headache. You take it. Seriously. Here. Take it!

Baldwin’s economical take on storytelling is indeed novel, but this visual cacophony of kinescope and film just does not work. His attempts to create paranoia by providing an insane surplus of information just ends up at times feeling like an endless clip reel. That combined with the wall-to-wall narration left me reaching for the Tylenol bottle.

That's not to say what he’s attempting here does not always work. There are moments, fleeting moments, when this concept borders on the brilliant. It takes a while, but once he starts actually getting things moving, say within the last 20 minutes or so when the whole movie gets all Devo with the purposefully cheesy special effects, everything begins to mesh together. Maybe it’s the wobbly camper in space that finally makes its appearance, but it wasn’t until then that I noticed my head stopped that little “no” shake it does whenever I sit in utter amazement at whatever misguided imagery happens to be flashing in front of my eyes. I stress, however, it’s a long, hard haul to even make it to that point. Not for the weak. Or sober.

That said, even though I certainly do not suggest anyone set aside their time to try to fit this particular flick into their schedules, it did at least get me intrigued enough to read up on this fella and oddly consider watching some of his other works. As I said, his concept of cobbling together a story using mostly existing footage is an intriguing one and something that I would indeed like to see work. I just need some time to shake this one off, first.

How’s It Look, Smartguy? 
When dealing with a movie that is 85 percent footage from other source material, it really can’t be judged on the image quality, for a great deal of the actual look of the film depends on this variety. The original footage… well… that was all pretty rough, but only in that “Hey look, I’m making an art film on a budget so it doesn’t have to be pretty” sort of way. Beyond all that, the actual digital transfer is quite nice. Crushed blacks are at a minimum and I noticed no artifacting.

How’s It Sound, Ya’ Bum? 
The movie is intended to be an assault of sorts on the eyes, and not so much on the ears. With that in mind, it was all done on the cheap so the sound isn’t all that much to write home about but all pretty solid. Obviously, the old clips vary.

You Think I Just Wanted The Movie, Pal?
First up is a Director’s Commentary with Daniel Baldwin and some other guy that claims to be a critic, but I suspect is just a good friend. Harder to sit through than the movie itself. It’s toast without butter, gang.

Next, a Making Of short called Behind The Spectrum that takes a cue from the movie itself and chooses to be fairly abstract and difficult to watch. Nothing here shows you much on what went on in the making or conception of this piece; it's just another exercise in art. For actual info behind the thought processes and such, the commentary is the only way to go.

A TV Clip from the actual Science In Action television show is also included.

Finally, a bio on the director.

Bring Us On Home, Brother.
Not all that easy to digest, gang, and I won’t even go off on the choice to spell “Specters” with the “e” and the “r” reversed. That’s just too easy. Putting on my honest hat, he’s working with a kind of interesting concept here as far as using all the archival elements, but the end result is nothing all that unique or all that watchable. It’s kind of like a 94-minute B-52’s video… pre Rock Lobster. Perhaps this would have been better if it starred Aquaspiderbat-Superman. At least he could have given all the characters power rings or something. Yeah. That would have been, boss.