Et Tu, Starring Malcolm McDowell & Lou Diamond Phillips

Sure, this Shakespearean production has been rocky, but imagine how much worse it would be if they were performing the Scottish Play. They are staging Julius Caesar instead, so Brent the director cannot fault the writer. However, the lead is objectively bad and many cast and crew members just rub him the wrong way. The theater’s sinister history inspires him to make sudden personnel changes in director-screenwriter Max Tzannes’ Et Tu, which just released on VOD.

Marcus has no talent, but his father is bankrolling the production, so he is playing Brutus. It is a shame, because his understudy Terrence can actually act. Margaret, the understudy for Portia would also be a trade-up, especially since she and Terrence have some off-stage chemistry percolating.

It sure would be nice to get rid of Marcus, especially since he rough-houses with the prop daggers. To make his irresponsible behavior worse, someone has been sharpening those stage weapons. The mysterious janitor seems to understand Brent’s dilemma, He also encourages the director’s worst impulses.

Et Tu is a scrappy little macabre tale that is often quite clever. It is probably safe to label it horror, considering there is more than enough killing, as well as mild supernatural overtones. Yet, instead of scaring viewers, it invites us to take voyeuristic glee in the deadly mayhem, which admittedly gets entertainingly bloody.

Malcolm McDowell is perfectly cast as the shadowy janitor, who is oddly willing to mop up blood. He truly seems to enjoy his Mephistophelean dialogue. Likewise, Lou Diamond Phillips makes Brent’s steady slide into utter insanity look completely believable. Sometimes, his lunacy even sounds halfway reasonable.

Et Tu is a lot of fun, in a dark and deranged kind of way. Tzannes’ screenplay also reflects a healthy familiarity with the Shakespeare  play causing all the trouble and a healthy appreciation of backstage farce. The film almost shares a kinship with Noises Off, but its prodigious body-count puts it in a different league. Yet, Et Tu would still make an interesting pairing with the dramatically gentler, Macbeth-themed Ghost Light.  Enthusiastically recommended for fans of sly psycho-thrillers, Et Tu is now available on VOD platforms.