Director – Ron Bonk (Hi-8, Clay)
Starring – Jennie Russo (Ms. Cannibal Holocaust), Trey Harrison (Night of Something Strange), and Michael Merchant (Science Team)
Release Date – 2015
Rating – 4/5
Tagline – “She gets revenge the only way she knows how…with her STD Satan infected vagina!”
The last decade or so has seen several releases trying to capture the cheap, over the top action that made exploitation flicks of the 70s so fun. Over the years we have seen the two Grindhouse films Death Proof andPlanet Terror, Dear God No!, Machete, and the now classic Father’s Day from the fine folks over at Astron-6.
I recently became friends with director Ron Bonk of SRS Cinema after I started covering the anthology film Hi-8 and learned that he was working on a new film She Kills. His segment in Hi-8 was one of my favorites of the anthology so I was excited to check it out especially when he said it was a grindhouse type film. I asked to review it and he hit me with the sad news that the film was not yet finished. I had to wait and over time I forgot about the project until just a few nights ago he hit me with the link to an online screener. My mind was not ready for the brain melting madness that it was about to witness. Thanks Ron!
**Spoiler Alert**The film begins with a young couple, Edwin and Saddie (Russo), who are out enjoying the beautiful day when a member of the gang The Touchers shows up and tries to get a little of Saddie. Edwin tries to stand up to the man but is unable to stand up for himself or his young lady. Lucky for them, a police siren rings out and The Toucher leaves. The two, on their honeymoon, head back to their hotel for a little hide the sausage.
However, their sex-capades are interrupted with the arrival of all The Touchers lead by the sick and perverted Dirk (Harrison). They plan on killing Edwin and raping Saddie but something happens when they uncover her bush. The whole gang goes mad and primal where they kill Edwin, eat his corpse, and then rape Saddie. That morning they wake and force Saddie to leave where she goes home and her martial arts master father tries to knock off a piece of that ass as well resulting in a martial arts showdown between her brother and father as they fight over her using domesticated animals as weapons. The brother prevails and Saddie leaves to visit her friend that is a psychic where she learns that her coot has been cursed and she now has fire crotch.
The psychic is able to heal her but by doing so it will make her vagina a weapon against men forcing her to become a lesbian. She agrees to it and then turns her new found man killer into a weapon to seek revenge on The Touchers. **Spoiler Alert**
I have seen so many exploitation throwback flicks over the years and a majority of them lack the camp and cheese that made the originals so much fun. The original run of exploitation and grindhouse flicks knew they were cheap and embraced that aspect of it and if the film took itself too seriously it failed to deliver on the fun and shocks that audience members were looking for. With that being said, the films that stand out in this modern movement embrace the camp and cheese and deliver some insane, over the top characters and stories. She Kills is no exception and goes above an beyond on the absurdity.
The acting in this one is is hard to judge due to the way the film was shot. Some of the characters are bad on purpose in order to pay homage and poke fun at the grindhouse flicks of the 70s. We then get characters that are hilarious and unrealistic in a way that will make the viewer think of a Troma or Chris Seaver film. On top of all that, we get characters that are very cliched and that, once again, pokes fun at the exploitation flicks that take themselves way too seriously. With all that being said, it takes a great deal of talent to pull off characters like these on purpose and the cast delivers on that.
The story for this one is one we have seen countless times before but never in a ridiculous fashion as we get here. Over the years we have seen so many films, especially rape/revenge flicks, that follows a woman raped by a gang and then seek revenge on the perverted bastards. This film is no exception but it adds so many supernatural elements to the story making it stand out along with an endless supply of humor. The film is the perfect blend of They Call Her One Eye and Teeth but with a Troma spin.
Finally, the film has so many on screen kills that are fun to watch and some are actually pretty fucking clever and vile. The kills have some great practical effects with some even using a light touch of CGI which does not look terrible. The film also has some great scenes full of visual images that are corny but still look great given the way the film was shot. Overall, She Kills is a film that will not disappoint. The film is the perfect throwback piece that brings all the fun from the grindhouse era but leaves out the drag time. For fuck’s sake please watch this film!
