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In the words of Bonk, ”She Kills” is centered around self-proclaimed lady killers, kung-fu, absurdly misplaced cinematic references, a psychopathic vagina with fake appendages and an abundance of dentures, extreme pubic hair, and uncontrollably loosed bowels. When talking about the aforementioned lady killers, he states that they include: Ron Bonk, who’s highly capable of creating a film where he pays homage to iconic cinematography by blending 70’s exploitation and Bonk’s creative fantasy together. And finally, he goes on to thank Ron for letting him preview the film before its release. In this film, Sadie, played by Jennie Russo, depicts free-spirited Sadie who has just married her lover Edwin who is played by Kirk LaSalle. Unfortunately, when the pair head over to a ‘honeymoon suite’, Edwin suffers from extreme trauma whilst being attacked by a group known as ‘The Touchers’. Unfortunately, this is not the end for Sadie. The group is led by Dirk, a hairy self-claimed man who is into ladies. After episodes Sadie being assaulted, Bonk introduces a very interesting subject of ‘fire crotch’, which indeed is a dangerous condition. Followed by a comically styled exorcism gone wrong, Sadie gets possessed from her genital/turns out, she is in dire need of being.
Michael Merchant, Jody Pucello, David Royal, Martha Zempsta, Neiometown Cerise, Mateo Prendergast, and Matt Mendoza are also featured in supporting roles in the film.
Before watching the movie, I was familiar with it thanks to the trailer. That is why it is interesting to know a little about how the protagonist carries it out. They claim She Kills was done on a budget of about $8,000. Is that really possible? In what ways is it able to stand against the films it is taken from? So far, this one sounds like it might grab my attention.
It is possible to see something positive with this style of films. The poster art is also telling, since it resembles the cover of pons from the 70s. It is good to know that retro and hand drawn designs are gaining popularity. I personally do not have a problem with the static, film reel approach, but the colorful intro credits were a welcome surprise. Music is the one area where I am more certain that I will not be disappointed. So long as there is a fair amount of both, I will be satisfied. The way I see it, music composition has always come across to me as very interesting. It was only after starting to take an interest in cinematics that it became apparent to me how relevant music is in expressing emotion. She Kills has a very diverse and unexpected soundtrack.
The melodies from the piano as Sadie dances playfully in the fields show her untainted and smooth temperament, her demeanor amuses me. The intensity of the scenes in the motel room starting with the music change, as we hear low-fi synth building powerfully forward until the scene reaches its climax. In the second half of the movie, Ron uses his camera in a way which is unfamiliar to many for mockumentary films, so it fits. These smooth zooms accentuate the act of looking at “The Touchers” from behind somewhere, which is perhaps one of the better nicknames I’ve heard. The movie also includes a blend of some strong and gentle passionate songs.
The dialogue has been recorded perfectly and with utmost clarity, and the poorly synced ADR was oddly amusing. Some of you may not have a lot of exposure to films of this genre or may have just started. So, here is helpful information for you: in the 1970s and 80s, delayed dubbing was quite popular. Some of the flashes of discoloration are yet again clever references to like “I Spit On Your Grave” and “Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia”. Other than that, I found the sound effects used in the film quite entertaining. The harsh jarring sounds in the opening act were straight out of something like “The Warriors” or a 50’s gangster film. Like many other movies, those sounds actually did serve a purpose in creating impact. Finally, the degree of comedy in the movie is highly subjective and you would need to sit down and watch the movie to get a feel of how much you would actually enjoy it. For a moronic film, I will admit, it is a mixed bag for me.
My favorite elements included Sadie’s Asian father, yes you heard me, Asian father and his “friendship” with her half-brother Chung Lee the third (even typing that makes me laugh). Both of them spoke with a bit of a delay, like if they were characters in a Shaolin Kung Fu series, and it was extraordinarily funny. The other one was a simple ‘I’ve got my eyes on you’ gag when Dirk is leaving the motel room at the end of the first act. I knew how it was going to play out, but it didn’t make me laugh any less.
In this collection of moving parts, Jennie Russo, who plays the main character, has the challenging task of putting them all together, but she manages to do it remarkably well. It also helps that she resembles a young Amber Tamblyn and looks like she walked straight out of the 70s. Russo puts a spin on things and Miss Russo spritely, not losing touch of what this is actually about. I’ll also add that there are some nude scenes that guys, and dare I say some girls too, are going to enjoy so … several may be added in context because let’s be honest, Jennie looks stunning. As for Trey Harrison, who portrays Dirk, I’m not sure what to make of his performance. I’m assuming Bonk told him to be as ridiculous as possible, which he seems to achieve anyway. I’m sure the actors playing The Touchers are doing their best with what has been crafted, but I have a feeling a lot of people will not embrace the absurdity that most of the cast brings here. Here, the characters were simply overdone and out of place to take even remotely serious (the intention I’m sure), but in a scenario where you’re meant to be looking menacing, it really doesn’t out identify.
Michael Merchant played Reggie, the ‘greaser’ stereotype, who is the other member of the gang who is able to make an impact whenever he is on the screen, and he sure did! The character’s “Hey boss” thick New York accent was played up big time which only added on to how big of a dummy he was. It’s a little difficult for Poodle, a random laughing Hispanic, blue, the childlike mentally challenged big, and Beatrice the leather wearing yapping junk to get too much of an arc.
With just a little context given, it is evident but I would have appreciated a little more context towards the mysterious mask wearing Reaper who appears time and again. I am assuming his evil ways or sorcery powers and what not is what sets Sadie on her path of destruction. That is only if he is not a random guy wearing some cheap dollar store mask. The inclusion of a very short scene involving miniatures was completely out of left field but ridiculously entertaining at the same time. A re-enactment of a scene from “Batman Begins” is even thrown in for good measure, just in case you were thinking “Oh, that’s not so odd”. Do not ask me the point of any of these little easter eggs because it should be clear by now that I do not know. Lastly, I want to give a shoutout to Colby Fincham, who truly excelled with the makeup effects. As I’ve noted, you can tell that it’s an under $10,000 film but the practical effects are quite nice. Everything is very cheap looking, but ambitious none the less. You have to give them credit when so many other films don’t even try.
I won’t say everything, but my favorite was a gruesome castration and a head face being smashed and ripped open. There is so much creativity here! That’s going to be the last parang I am going to recommend, the last gag was shocking due to our awful CG change. An actor who was stuffed inside latex had his head protruding towards the bottom sifted into a shoddy opening. How amazing is it that the crew tried that! They really were great efforts on the last throw, hah, and now I would like to compliment the remark of great effort.
I am over 1,300 words into this review and haven’t even begun this section yet. So I can say this much about She Kills there is a lot to discuss. Some of the dialogue in some places is very weak. Sadie’s dumb blonde act didn’t really fit with the character because of her strength and what she is able to accomplish as the film goes on. The constantly repeated euphemisms for vagina get to be a bit excessive. I understand that these kinds of films are language poor but it seems a bit overdone. There are a few discontinuity errors here and there, however there are nowhere near the amount one would expect for a film with this level of funding. Edwin gets a knee to the face while under attack from Reggie, and there are no cuts or gashes during the impact shots, or the frames that follow.
There is a laughable moment that features a police officer and an ambulance rushing down a road that looks completely out of place. To an extent, it is similar to everything else I expect from self-sustaining films. That strange footage gave me quite the surprise considering all of the stunts were done in real life as opposed to being animated which was mind-blowing, to say the least. Perhaps the minute CG bloodstains I saw scattered around the last act was due to poor budgeting and timeline constraints, but I believe it took something away from the final piece.
The most significant flaw that I found with She Kills is that, it’s not so much that it is uncontrolled, but rather that it is uncontrolled in a different way. The film has no focus and at some points, completely stops building up its pace. The film starts off strong with skeleton and opening shots, but then gets stuck in limbo for a troublesome period. As The Touchers start to caveman and monkey around, the audience is kept in the dark about the reasoning behind their actions. What comes next is way too inaccurate in the portrayal of rape that exists in film serves a purpose to be accurate, persuasive, or artistic. Why would I wish for it to be indistinct? Very easy, as the entire length of the scene, actors give the most detached, cartoonish expression the human face is capable of making. As cringe inducing as every other human being on screen makes it, Russo sets himself apart by making it all look easy. The point I want to make is that all of them collectively are despicable people but trying to understand the nature and motives for an act such as this one proved to be quite the challenge and in the end, I could never justify, even in the realm of fiction, where this film proclaims itself to be a revenge story, I never achieved the satisfaction of sympathy.
Next, in what is most likely the worst fight choreography ever written (obviously for comic relief), the movie skips to Sadie’s half-brother and their father. This reviewer found it funny for the most part but this view did not gain much from the film anyway. There were a few chuckles, but it felt like it went on for well over 20 minutes and lost whatever it was trying to achieve.
When we see Sadie next, she has a face painting akin to Brandon Lee in The Crow when he walks into a bar that The Touchers go to often. After the group had already gone through a previous bar scene, which had a very long jukebox musical number that the group had to dance to in real time, I had reached my limit. This slow-motion sequence has mellow acoustic guitar accompanying it while the rest of the film is muted. It is not something that is in the right type of mood to be done in a film like this. Not to mention, how this would be out of character for the film. It is around these kinds of scenes that the film tries to go feeling more comic book oriented, yet misses its target. The visual effects of the exorcism, for lack of a better description, are about what I would expect to see in a ten-thousand-dollar film. While the effects are terrible, they are slightly salvageable because of the intense musical theme to the scene. These are far and away the best looking VHS tapes I have ever seen. Sure, there is an endless amount of things that can be picked apart, but it is not a documentary so I doubt these would raise eyebrows with dedicated fans of the genre.
Over the years there has never been a sincere appreciation of the She Kills franchise. It has single-handedly proven to possess unlimited potential in the Grindhouse/Exploitation niche. It is evident that everything about this movie was executed with pure ingenuity. The visual approach of the movie was absurdly reminiscent to my favorite classic films and the self-aware audio issues were touch worthy. They were further elevated by the music accompanying multi layered constructive polish. Shamefully, even advertisement has made its way into the industry with its unhelpfully loose gimmicks. The humor for the most parts was executed seamlessly. I know that some of the effects were rather cheap, and cringe-worthy, but they were blissfully better than the dull visual effects and the poor CG blood. For me, the half baked writing and poor pacing as well as the even looser poor direction gaffes on a re watchable film just make it too sickening. I mean, for me at least the bubble headed applause cheerleading acting style just did not cut the muster. Besides that there are some continues gaps because the notion of the assault scene was so different from what I had envisioned..
Ill tell you two things and be done, This is a lo-fi film, and it costs $8000, and there is a market for hardcore trash cinema enthusiasts. Because I am much more willing to appreciate this particular genre of films. I will be very excited for the next tapes by Bunkron and The Tribe, and you should be too because it’s coming!
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