The most overtly nihilistic of the Alexander films I have seen on Tubi so far. Im told I saw the producers cut and not the original director cut which is only on the Blu-Ray but I can't imagine they're that much different. Imagine a mix up of Dressed to Kill, Neon Demon and The original Rabid on a low budget and you get the mood of this extremely strange and dark movie. And funnily enough, two of the actual library cues from Cronenberg's 1977 Rabid are on the soundtrack. This is typically stylish and female driven Alexander dream horror but this one also breaks into stretches of verite style bleakness that gives Ali achappell (from many other Alexander movies) lots of places to really emote. Extremely gory and really, really weird. I think this has moments of Alexander's best work and is wall to wall style with some unforgettable imagery. But I still prefer Scream of the Blind Dead which also has Thea Munster in it playing another sort of angel of death but is a more fully realized movie. Still, this is Real filmmaking here just maybe too depressing for its own good.
3 Reviews
The dream keeps going
BandSAboutMovies10 June 2023
Warning: Spoilers
She wakes. She walks. She kills.
At night, a woman (Ali Chappell) puts on her red overcoat and black gloves, reaches for a straight razor and heads out into the blackness to kill, baby, kill. And when she returns, she seemingly communicates with death herself (Thea Munster) who drives her to commit more acts of death and self-harm.
As each night ends, the viewer learns more about the life of this killer, a woman divorced from an abusive man, unable to see the daughter that she loves.
Directed, written, shot and even set decorated - with Chappell - by Chris Alexander, this is a film that is at once giallo and then an art piece, fitting somewhere between the two worlds way better than a much higher budgeted film like Amer can dream of doing. Yet unlike so many of the films within this genre, the emphasis is less on the murders and more on the pre and post states of the murderer.
I can see where some would see this as pretentious arty nonsense, but I love it. This is the movie that puts us into the mindset of the giallo killer while knowing nothing of the victims. They are just there to be grist for the mill, flesh for the flash of the blade, mannequins to do violence upon so that we can return to that room, the place where it seems that time stops and also stops making sense.
At night, a woman (Ali Chappell) puts on her red overcoat and black gloves, reaches for a straight razor and heads out into the blackness to kill, baby, kill. And when she returns, she seemingly communicates with death herself (Thea Munster) who drives her to commit more acts of death and self-harm.
As each night ends, the viewer learns more about the life of this killer, a woman divorced from an abusive man, unable to see the daughter that she loves.
Directed, written, shot and even set decorated - with Chappell - by Chris Alexander, this is a film that is at once giallo and then an art piece, fitting somewhere between the two worlds way better than a much higher budgeted film like Amer can dream of doing. Yet unlike so many of the films within this genre, the emphasis is less on the murders and more on the pre and post states of the murderer.
I can see where some would see this as pretentious arty nonsense, but I love it. This is the movie that puts us into the mindset of the giallo killer while knowing nothing of the victims. They are just there to be grist for the mill, flesh for the flash of the blade, mannequins to do violence upon so that we can return to that room, the place where it seems that time stops and also stops making sense.
Dream-like and familiar, with a gialli style.
parry_na7 January 2022
Long term fans of Chris Alexander's films might detect more than a slight similarity to 'Blood for Irina', Alexander's (excellent) debut feature. This concerns Allie Chappell's Valerie character, who's the blond hair and shades, night-time walks and penchant for solo murder, which we have seen before, seem to evoke memories - even some of the streets prowled look familiar.
I have absolutely no problem with directors revisiting earlier ideas, especially when they are embellished upon, as here.
There are lots of tricks played with light flares and slow motion. The soundtrack is typically distinctive, with gurgling noises added to the murders for extra gruesomeness, and some of the most realistic blood in film.
Another enjoyable dark and bloody visit into the art house world of Chris Alexander's cinematic world, an acquired taste for sure, and I love it. 8 out of 10.
I have absolutely no problem with directors revisiting earlier ideas, especially when they are embellished upon, as here.
There are lots of tricks played with light flares and slow motion. The soundtrack is typically distinctive, with gurgling noises added to the murders for extra gruesomeness, and some of the most realistic blood in film.
Another enjoyable dark and bloody visit into the art house world of Chris Alexander's cinematic world, an acquired taste for sure, and I love it. 8 out of 10.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
