Tuesday, October 31, 2023

The Beautiful Killers – review


Director: Marcus J Henderson

Release date: 2023* 
*Date via Amazon

Contains spoilers

I hate to do this, I really do. As I watched this film my heart sank at the thought of writing what I quickly knew would be a negative review. I try and find an angle to see the good in a film but in some cases, this being one, there isn’t a nail to hang that hat on. Equally, however, I also dislike spending money on a film and finding no real redeemable qualities within it.

opening

After opening cards (such as a rating card) with a real antiquated look we see a pair enter a poorly lit room. One is exultant, they have clearly just pulled off some kind of crime. The larger exultant one, a man, goes to retrieve something and turns to see the smaller (unclear in the bad lighting but soon revealed as a woman) has pulled a gun. As the screen turns black, she fires multiple times (the sound of the gun is weak). We see her exit the room into a corridor, she will appear at the end of the film, her connection to the general ‘plot’ is not really explained.

Siron Collier as the bartender

A woman (Jennifer Chandler, I think) enters a bar and is greeted by the bartender (Siron Collier). At this point I really started to notice the dialogue was very unnatural in timbre. She has come to the area to see Anna, though she seems to be missing. The bartender suggests that she might need something and hands her a bottle with a dropper top and suggests two drops under the tongue will protect from the beautiful killers – later this becomes less protect from attack but it will prevent turning. The film then is him telling her stories of the beautiful killers.

Jennifer Chandler as the traveller

At first I struggled to understand who each set of peeps were and their connection to a plot I couldn’t fathom. But, as it went on, I realised that there are several different stories, some connected some not, all of which feature the female vampires dubbed as the Beautiful Killers. As for a plot, I still couldn’t fathom it and, by the end, I realised that was because there wasn’t really an overarching one (bar vampire gals attack multiple people). There seems little sense in this.

vampire fortune teller

So, for instance, we get three young adults entering a store and it is clear it is a fortune teller's place. The reaction and hostility of the one whose fortune was to be read made it impossible to understand why she was there. Eventually she walks out with her mates, then she decides she will get her money back (we never saw her pay as far as I could see). She goes in on her own, the lighting has become red, the fortune teller is feeding off a guy on the floor and she then chases after the girl who has literally nipped outside and then cowers close by and so is got. There was no point.

blood spattered vampires

A woman who has just been made partner (she says on the phone) is approached as she sits in her car by a girl who wants to know where the nearest town is and then the driver is attacked when the girl suddenly lunges from the back seat (having teleported into the car?) We cut to what appears to be the driver's friends having a drink. A knock on the door and the vampire girl is there, she asks to use the phone and then asks to use the toilet (and so is invited in). The house owner goes to check on the girl and is attacked by her and screams, which the friend fails to hear and then is attacked herself.

kissing over a victim

Then, at another house, there is a knock on the door and the mother (who is with her daughter) doesn’t open it but gets a gun. The point in knocking (and gaining an invitation) is then completely lost when the vampire girl (the same one as before) lets herself in the house (presumably through the back door). Mother and daughter escape and get a storeowner to unlock his door and let them in for shelter. After the most awkward exchange, the dialogue really excruciating, the vampire girl walks on in and attacks the store owner.

feed

I could go on. We rarely get names, and we certainly get very little characterisation. The effects are poor, the dialogue (as mentioned) feels far from natural, the performances are amateurish. It is all a shame as I’d love to get a single element I could hold up as even a little interesting or good. At one point a couple of lesbian vampires manage to have a less than erotic liaison over a victim’s corpse, whilst a friend of the victim watches, and the viewer realises that it has even missed the mark on a sexploitation level.

I am really sorry, filmmakers. This one missed on all levels for me. 1 out of 10 as I like to think that it was a labour of love (even if it didn’t come across as such). At the time of writing I could not find an IMDb page.

On Demand @ Amazon US

On Demand @ Amazon UK

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