Model Hunger

Debbie Rochon's directorial debut is a hilarious and thought-provoking horror movie with a stellar cast that reveals more with each viewing. The script by James Mogart not only had me laughing throughout, but it is also a great social commentary on how society views women as they age. Ginny (played by the incredible Lynn Lowry) lures young women into her home and cannibalizes them in many unforgettable scenes that manage to be horrifying as well as funny. Tiffany Shepis plays a new neighbor dealing with mental issues who becomes obsessed with her new neighbor eventually leading to a showdown. I especially loved the TV show the whole town couldn't stop watching, Suzi's Secrets, where Babette Bombshell is featured as lingerie model encouraging women to love their bodies. Lastly, I was very impressed by how talented Debbie Rochon is behind the camera. Please direct more, Debbie! With 9 wins and 18 nominations, it's obvious that many others loved this film as much as me. A must see for any true horror fan!

I saw this when it was being screened at film festivals, and me being a super fan of Rochon at the time, I was all about it. Until the movie started. The movie itself is very poorly shot, lit and acted (except for Lowry, who shined in her role). Lowry's performance alone was not enough to save this movie. People were falling asleep in the theater, and endlessly checking their watches. After the show was over, there was a Q&A with Debbie, and it was pretty much crickets. No one really had anything to say. She knew I was probably her biggest fan in the audience, so she asked me if I had any questions, and I just drew a blank. I felt like a jerk for not liking the movie, but I'm not going to pretend I did just because I was a fan of the director. Perhaps Debbie would have done a better job directing her own screenplay/story. But after this movie, I'm not really in too big of a hurry to find out.

Moving into a new home, a married couple thinks their neighbors' odd behaviors are just weird quirks for an older woman, but once a series of strange disappearances strike the local girls his wife believes her instincts to suspect the neighbor was killing everyone all along and tries to stop her from continuing.

This one was a pretty enjoyable effort overall. One of the strongest elements to this one is the endearingly goofy charm centered around the main killer at the center of the events. That the entirety of everyone who goes to visit her ends up unable to believe she's capable of being the psychotic, sadistic killer that enjoys eating her victims means so much to how she can get away with everything. The inner monologues she has about the different people in her life, from letting the cheerleader yammer on about their fundraiser, the hitchhiker talking about her upbringing or the extremely sexual nature of her targets creates a deep, dark trip into her psychological state to deal with the victims. The constant infomercials on TV showing the plus-size presenter discussing all manner of deviant, sexual perversions in a trashy, enjoyable manner add to this one quite nicely. That factor goes hand-in-hand with the over-the-top scenes of her carving up and tormenting her victims. From the wholesale carving up of the cheerleaders' best friend to the dismembering of the hitchhiker due to the comments made in the car-ride earlier and the special show she performs for a tied-up victim before completely cutting them to pieces play nicely off the mindset we've been given about her earlier. The sexually-charged scenes, centered around targeting her victims for perceived or implied sexual transgressions in her snapped mind, is a fine motivator for what the fun and deranged torture scenes all about where the nice gore and brutal kills come together in a fine exploitation-style mash-up. Combined with the frantic finale that has some solid action involved, these aspects are what manages to hold the film up overall. There are some flaws present. The most glaring issue here is the nearly nonexistent storyline where things just tend to happen simply to move the story along. The initial stages where she comes to believe the suspicions of the neighbor come off with no real motivation or impetus to believe she's doing anything wrong after just moving in the night before, and how the missing person's cases come about to bring the officers into the picture don't serve any logical sense here. As well, the finale comes off incredibly confusing where the jerking camera makes it difficult to determine anything, the ambiguity is quite prominent is not being entirely positive about the true nature of everyone's outcomes and a few characters tend to pop back-and-forth between being obvious about what's going on and not obvious about what's going on and not which all come together into not making any sense. These are what knock this one down the most.

Rated R: Extreme Graphic and Sexual Language, Nudity and Graphic Violence.

Debbie Rochon's directorial debut is a smart, funny and multi layered horror film. Genre legend Lyn Lowry (I Drink Your Blood, Shivers) has been keeping busy in the past few years appearing in dozens of low budget horror gems and germs. In Model Hunger Lowry stars as Ginny, an aging model up against the heartless and sexist model industry. Ginny career is over and she is forced into retirement due to her age, leading her to exact bloody revenge on young and beautiful women. The film offers thought-provoking social commentary on how society treats women as they age while simultaneously being extremely funny and witty. Debbie Rochon feels right at home behind the camera and this film is testament to her talent and craft.

I first saw this when it premiered at Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival. It was quite the surprise! Since then, I have watched it several times, and each time I see more and more of the through its layers. This film has heart and works on so many levels. Debbie Rochon truly puts her experience as a horror icon and her love for the genre into every frame, making a true homage, both visually and thematically, to films from the grindhouse to Scorcese. It is a dark comedy worth getting immersed in. There is a reason that Lynn Lowry is so fond of it and views Ginny Reilly as one of her best roles. Ms. Lowry is a powerhouse here! And Tiffany Shepis is amazing as she weaves through an intense and emotional role towards the final confrontation. See this film!