They're artists, loving craftsmen, meticulously creating, forming, molding ..... balloon animals?

In "Twisted: A Balloonamentary," the artists work not in clays, watercolors or granite but rubber and latex.

"Twisted" shines a light on a subculture of balloon twisters, people for whom balloon artistry is a way of life. Often they make their living at restaurants, birthday parties and festivals. Some claim to make in excess of hundreds of thousands, or in one case more than a million dollars a year.

Some find motivation beyond money, such as John Holmes, who shares a name with a famous porn star, but has another use for latex: Spreading the word. John preaches the gospel through a balloon show, twisting crosses and snakes as he tells biblical stories.

Documentaries of this ilk are most successful when they get beyond the film's initial gimmick and look at the subjects as people beyond what they do. Unfortunately "Twisted" doesn't take this approach. Sure, some of the sculptures are incredibly intricate, and among other details we learn that one of the secrets of good balloon-animal-making is hiding the knots that keep the air in.

But watching people twist balloons begins to grow a little tiresome after about 10 minutes, and stretching it out to 79 can be downright painful without something else to watch.

The filmmakers take little care to develop the people as characters, so at best they come off as a little nerdy. At worst they seem insulated and out of touch with reality.

There are plenty of opportunities for tension, from the death of a beloved twister to a major balloon competition that employs hundreds of hours of work and thousands of balloons. We learn that Holmes is a former felon and drug user, abused by his mother as a child, but I'm not sure that we even hear what crime he committed. His past seems to be more a manufactured footnote than an interesting character trait.

The film's most riveting moments come at a convention, where attendees have the choice of attending a gospel balloon-twisting seminar, or an adult workshop where phalluses fly like sparrows.

Instead of learning why the convention's organizers scheduled those seminars at the same time (midnight), we get pandering and hem-hawing from people who obviously object to the adult material but are holding back in front of the camera.

"Twisted" can't take advantage of these situations, and instead gives us a puff piece both literally and figuratively.

Turns out, "Twisted" is just full of hot air.

Twisted: A Balloonamentary

Running time: 79 minutes.

Starring: Sheree Brown-Rosner, Don Caldwell, Laura Dakin.

Directors: Naomi Greenfield, Sara Taksler.