Delirium centres around Charlie, a silent killing machine who we see kill one person and then instantly move onto the next. But why is he doing this? We find out that Charlie is a Vietnam vet who has been hired by extremists to clean up the streets. Except he’s gone berserk and started killing anyone he crosses paths with (except the ginger cat who we see him with early on in the film thankfully).

Delirium is an excellent film that is a cross between a slasher film, a Vietnam vet movie (there must be a name for this subgenre. Is it Vietnamploitation? Namploitation? PTSDploitation? If any of these terms are new, then I’m claiming copywrite. Anyway, the daddy of these movies must be Taxi Driver with Combat Shock being another prime entry) and a police drama.

Yes, sometimes the acting is a bit, erm, raw but it lends realism and everything doesn’t have to be up to the standards of Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.

But on the whole, this is a very interesting low-budget thriller that goes VERY left-field and ventures into new territory for a film of it’s ilk.

Also, the characters are so interesting and are brought to life brilliantly. The character of Charlie is fantastic and Nick Panouzis and his wordless performance is excellent. I also loved the character of Susan played by Debi Chaney. This is no dumb blonde but rather a character who isn’t afraid to investigate what’s going on.

The use of music in Delirium is also very interesting. It seems that they used almost all of the better known pieces of library music that were used in Prisoner Cell Block H which is very amusing for fans (like me) of the Aussie soap. But they also use the theme to the UK gameshow Mastermind, which is a headfuck! I kept expecting Magnus Magnusson to utter the immortal words, ‘I’ve started so I’ll finish!’

Apparently, Quentin Tarantino loves Delirium which is one hell of a recommendation. Also, apprently there’s a Blu Ray release which used the only known existing print of the film. I look forward to buying it.

4 out of 5 stars