I’’ve never met a Ray Dennis Steckler movie I didn’’t like (even just a little). True, BODY FEVER only marks the fourth, but not a bad track record nonetheless.

Steckler, the backyard multihyphenate whose psychotronic efforts have dealt famous with two-bit superheroes (RAT PFINK A BOO BOO) and mixed-up zombies (THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES), turns his lens to the world of crime in the private-eye procedural BODY FEVER (the credits call it SUPER COOL). Aside from writing, directing and producing, Steckler takes the starring role himself — no surprise there — as Charlie Smith, an always napping detective for hire. 

He’’s hired by a fat crime boss to locate one Carrie Eskine (Steckler’s wife, sexy Carolyn Brandt), a cat burglar — check out that snakeskin suit and Catwoman mask! — who stole $150,000 worth of pure, uncut heroin from him (although, unbeknownst to him, it was immediately stolen from her as well). Smith puts his feet to the pavement and frequents local sleazy hangouts to locate Ms. Eskine’s whereabouts. When he finally does find her — dancing in his room, no less — she makes him an offer he can’t refuse: She’’ll give Charlie half of the cut if he helps her get the smack back. He agrees. They fall in love.

BODY FEVER isn’’t exciting or even suspenseful, but there’s something enjoyable nonetheless of watching Steckler — who looks like a dopier Kevin Spacey in a quasi-Gilligan hat — traipse around a connect-the-dots plot as he plays gumshoe. He’’s no actor — no one in his films really is — but he does have more directorial talent than he’s given credit for. His movies are — at the very least — interesting looking, and here he gives himself a few arty sex scenes to direct the ***censored*** out of.

Clearly, he enjoyed it (hey, I’’d give myself four sex scenes, too), so it’s hard not to be slightly charmed by this B-level potboiler. The disc’s plentiful extras help, including a Steckler commentary, an interview with Brandt (I wouldn’’t recognize her today), trailers for four Steckler flicks. Better is four minutes worth of vintage color footage of Rat Pfink, Boo Boo, Brandt and a drum-playing gorilla doing some sort of go-go rock-out in front of a grocery store an audience of confused children. There’s also a lost B&W Steckler short, GOOF ON THE LOOSE, which is a nonsensical 10 minutes of physical shtick involving a drunk, the mentally handicapped and a guy in a Frankenstein mask. If you’’re familiar with Steckler’s Lemon Grove Kids, you know what you’re getting into.

Speaking of, don’t let the scary, Courtney Love-esque cover art dissuade you from checking out BODY FEVER. It has nothing to do with the film.