Dogs in Quicksand Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		1.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		2.5

Dogs in Quicksand Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf January 28, 2025

The complications of relationships and unsatisfied people are explored in 1999’s oddly titled “Dogs in Quicksand.” Writer/director Mike Trippiedi goes the multi-character route for the endeavor, assembling an assortment of emotionally unstable people experiencing tremendous upheaval in their lives, trying to make sense of their own desires and attraction to others. The helmer creates a cat’s cradle of personalities to inspect for the run time, as each participant is facing trouble they can’t process in a healthy manner, leading to a series of strange connections and desires, dusted with a little violence to help add tension to the picture. “Dogs in Quicksand” is meant to be a dark comedy, as bad things happen to bad people, and Trippiedi attempts to play the whole production with a certain snappiness, investing in dialogue and broad performances to help the offering reach a semi- farcical speed. It’s a laudable effort, but Trippiedi doesn’t know when to quit, pushing the feature into tedium as it tries to add turns to turns already in the plot.

Mitch (Mike Trippiedi) is married to Lisa (Anne Shapland Kearns), and she’s not thrilled with their relationship. For his birthday, Lisa goes out of their small farming town to pick up Monique (Mina Willis), a prostitute accepting a payday to join the distraught woman and sleep with Mitch while his wife watches from a nearby closet. Instead of enjoying a brief moment of lust, Mitch falls in love with Monique, paying her to spend time mastering dance lessons with him, unable to share his hobby with Lisa. Ray (John Tilford) is married to Debbie (Sue Trippiedi), but he's secretly sleeping with Darla (Susan Muirhead), a sex-crazed woman married to milquetoast Jesse (Bill Yauch). Ray is trying to hide his affair from his wife, but Debbie works to pull the truth out of her spouse, hiring Molly (Mindy Manolakes) and Joe (Doug Huntman) to tail her husband and acquire photographic proof of his misdeeds. Murph (Steven M. Keen) is a lawyer who doesn’t have much longer to live, rejecting a cirrhosis diagnosis to play the rest of his days as irresponsibly as possible. When Darla ends up dead in Mitch’s office, he panics, trying to evade suspicion as the investigation heats up, putting Detective Bruns (Floyd Bundy) on the case, and he has special kinks to work out while dealing with the women in town.

The small town in “Dogs in Quicksand” is actually the opposite of sleepy. Everyone in the community seems to be dealing with personal issues, putting Trippiedi on a mission to generate a hectic atmosphere of colliding personalities, starting with Mitch, who’s about to experience a life- changing birthday thanks to Lisa’s strange present. An unhinged person who doesn’t know how to process her feelings, Lisa turns to streetwalker Monique for help satisfying her husband, and this connection represents the first domino to fall in Trippiedi’s screenplay, bringing the sex worker into the middle of a deteriorating domestic situation. Ray’s not doing well either, attempting to hide his affair with Darla, a lustful woman who’s ready to take on any partner, picking the married man for the thrill of the hunt.

“Dogs in Quicksand” plays with periodic flashbacks, as Trippiedi establishes trouble brewing among the characters, stepping back in time to clarify motivations or reveal secret ambitions. The helmer is after a rhythm of disorientation with the endeavor, adding plenty of knots to the story as these personalities confront unexpected reveals and, in some cases, disasters. Murder enters the picture at the midway mark, and while it’s meant to add escalation to the tale, “Dogs in Quicksand” doesn’t really need it, doing relatively well with mental health issues as the characters make poor choices to cover their tracks or follow their desires. Death brings in the cops, which is primarily an excuse to play with Bruns and his kinks, as he pays women to wrestle him, giving the detective a greater thrill than solving crimes. Murph’s subplot has some potential, watching a man of mild decency shed goodness when he’s diagnosed with a terminal illness, on a path of destruction that gives the material a welcome darkness at times.

Dogs in Quicksand Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

A "Betacam shot" endeavor, "Dogs in Quicksand" arrives on Blu-ray with an AVC encoded image (1.78:1 aspect ratio) presentation. To help overcome the limitations of the source, Saturn's Core elects to turn to A.I. processing to spiff up the viewing experience, and while it's not quite as ghastly as work done to "Gut Pile," it's still noticeable and quite artificial. Frame information is smoothed down, and awkwardly so at times, finding many wonky points of focus along the way. Color is adequate, delivering slightly aged hues with clothing choices and interior decoration. Greenery is acceptable, and skin tones are decent for SOV entertainment. Source is in decent condition.

Dogs in Quicksand Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA mix offers a straightforward understanding of dialogue exchanges. The actors often do battle with background noise, but intelligibility is preserved. Scoring delivers acceptable support with synth sounds.

Dogs in Quicksand Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Booklet (26 pages) contains an essay by Heather Drain and an interview with writer/director Mike Trippiedi.

• Commentary features writer/director Mike Trippiedi and cinematographer/editor Bill Yauch.

• "25 Years Later" (40:17, HD) is the making of for "Dogs in Quicksand," featuring interviews with writer/director Mike Trippiedi, continuity director Mindy Manolakes, cinematographer Bill Yauch, post audio tech Scott Cimarusti, and actors Steven M. Keen, Mina Willis (appearing via video conferencing), Anne Shapland Kearns, Jennifer Heaton, Doug Huntman (appearing via video conferencing), John Tilford, Sue Trippiedi, and Traci Nally.

• Outtakes (5:26, SD) are provided, supplying a peek at flubbed lines, giggle fits, and technical mistakes collected during the making of "Dogs in Quicksand."

• And a Trailer (1:12, SD) is included.

• "Caged Vixens" (108:27, SD) is listed as "Mike Trippiedi's live 'women in prison' comedy."

• Short Films (SD) include 1971's "The Nuts of Wrath" (3:24), 1991's "Coming Soon" (7:21), 1992's "Jesusville" (23:13), 1993's "The Story of Mommy & Daddy" (21:00), 1994's "Half Dead" (16:06), and 2001's "Bucky McSnead" (19:21).

• "Murder Too Many" (23:34, SD) is a 2003 short film by Mike Trippiedi.

• A Promo Video (2:29, SD) and a Trailer (1:03, SD) for "Murder Too Many" are included.

Dogs in Quicksand Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"Dogs in Quicksand" is determined to hit a 90-minute-long run time, finding the last act striving to grow wilder as it goes. Overlength is an issue, especially involving a few supporting players, as a subplot with Molly and Joe and their inane banter gets in the way of steady pacing. And the conclusion isn't exactly satisfying, finding Trippiedi pushing to get crazy instead of sharp, giving the material one too many spins to maintain disorientation. Still, there's plenty to enjoy about the SOV endeavor, which is committed to screenwriting and performance, putting the actors to work as they inhabit hysterical characters and manage dangerous relationships. "Dogs in Quicksand" doesn't completely work, but ambition is present, which counts for something as Trippiedi attempts to provide a roller coaster ride of human connections with his no-budget feature.