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The Dark Backward may be most aggressively unpleasant commercial feature ever made. It clearly represents some kind of horrific apotheosis of the "bad-is-good" aesthetic. Judd Nelson, covered in a sheen of sweat, his hair slicked down with grease, plays the lead role as Marty Malt, a weak-willed, woefully inept standup comic who unexplainably grows a third arm. But it's Bill Paxton's egregiously over-the-top performance as Marty's unremittingly vile trash collection co-worker, Gus, that sets the tone for the film. Early on, Gus is shown gleefully molesting a nude corpse at the town dump, and things don't get much more pleasant from there. Paxton is normally a reliable actor, and it can be assumed that his incessant mugging and maniacal laughter in this film is exactly what writer/director Adam Rifkin was looking for. Some teachers scrape the blackboard inadvertently, with a new piece of chalk, say, but Rifkin is more like the kid who does it intentionally, just to see the other kids react. It says a lot that Rob Lowe turns in the film's deftest comedic performance, although Wayne Newton, as Marty's desperate agent, is appropriately oily, and King Moody makes an impression as a children's television host. The film's production design is rather unique, for its propensity to induce compulsive showering if nothing else. The film does suggest some kind of dark vision, but Rifkin doesn't develop his characters or his themes enough to maintain interest. Still, he deserves some credit for not compromising his hellish view -- for making no concession to audience desires, common sense, or good taste.