I picked up She Kills at Family Video. I was happy to find it and gave it a spin. I liked the film for the most part. One of the selling points was the tribute to the old style grindhouse movies. It was also my biggest problem with the film. Director Ron Bonk tried so hard to be a certain type of film he forgot to make this one more his own. It is like a greatest hits of scenes from other films I have seen. But they did it first and they were original. There have been many films it seems trying to do this type of tribute film. It's all one scene after another copied from better movies with a bunch of animated digital scratches thrown on it. Ron's film is better than most. I think he knows about these types of films and maybe even experienced them. But I also feel that this style he chose overall kind of hurts the film. She Kills has enough crazy and original ideas that it did not need the gimmicks. I really loved the Sadie character and I think
Jennie Russo did a very good job. Overall the acting is in pace with the story and the overall feel of the film. It is over the top. Some of it is fun and pretty well done while some is a bit annoying.
Taking inspiration from films like "Thriller: They Call Her One Eye" and many exploitation films of the 70s, She Kills moves at a good pace and has good technical quality. The sound design is fun in places and the acting, while not great, is fun and ads to the insanity. It's a wild ride to be sure, and one that I intend to take again when I rewatch the film. There is so much going on, I am sure I missed some of the gags. Action moves pretty quickly and the lighting is really good as well. I have to hand it to Ron and his team for going places many films only hint at, without making me regret watching. It's still all in fun. So many films today seem to just push atrocities in my face and tell me it is entertainment. It's not. It is disgusting and I turn it off. Ron keeps things fun and light, no matter how nasty it gets.
Ron Bonk also did one of my two favorite Hi-8 segments so I am looking forward to what he does next. After the disappointing Empire State of the Dead, I feel he is back on track with this film. It is a good movie to watch with friends who are open minded and get a laugh out of movies like this. In the end, I was entertained and that is what we watch movies for. I gave it 5, and would have gone a bit higher if so much of this didn't feel stolen from other films. But I give it an A for effort! Makes a nice triple bill with Night of Something Strange and Dreaming Purple Neon. All films that express love for an age of cinema sadly long gone. And all of them, like this movie, are really crazy movies where anything can happen, and probably will.
