Dead Hooker in a Trunk

I read some pretty positive reviews for this film, and am always willing to support indy film.

but seriously WTF! I just payed 7 bucks to rent this, I feel so strongly about it that I will ask for my money back from the store.

I could only sit through 20 minutes of it. When the movie starts the first thing you will notice is just how terrible the audio is.

quickly followed by the lighting, camera work. and editing.

you will not know what the hell is going on.

Then when the performances start you will face palm at the writing and execution.

The thing that bothers me most is that the film makers have cast themselves in the lead roles, when really, if they cared at all about film making, they would have stayed on the other side of the camera, at least that way they could have attempted to limit the damage of every other terrible element at work.

0 out of 10

The Soska sisters are two of the more interesting characters working in horror today... identical twins with a seriously twisted outlook on life who have thus far written, directed, produced, and starred in several shorts and two full length indie movies, Dead Hooker In A Trunk (2009) and body modification horror American Mary (2012). Suitably impressed by the latter, I felt compelled to check out their debut feature; sadly, Dead Hooker is nowhere near as an accomplished effort, being yet another weak Tarantino-style grind-house homage that wants to be both ultra-cool edgy thriller AND over-the-top splat-stick, but which ends up simply being a mess.

Jen Soska plays 'Geek', a bible-thumping church-goer; Sylvia plays her sister 'Badass', the yin to her yang, a tattooed bitch in a tight black vest who refuses to take crap from anyone. Together with 'Goody Two Shoes' (C.J. Wallis), Jen's virginal boyfriend, and crap punk-rock singer 'Junkie' (Rikki Gagne), they are thrown into a world of chaos and violence after the discovery of a dead hooker and some bags of cocaine in the trunk of their car.

While I admire the Soska's for their attitude and obvious enthusiasm, I cannot bring myself to praise what is very clearly the work of naive newcomers; behind the admittedly nifty title lies a poorly written wreck of a film with embarrassingly bad dialogue and some truly terrible acting, not least from the sisters themselves. The action meanders aimlessly from one frustratingly logic-free scene to the next, the characters making ridiculously bad decisions, shrugging off severe (and probably fatal) injuries, and somehow developing incredible fighting skills along the way. About the only real fun to be had is with some cheap and cheerful OTT gore.

Thankfully, American Mary suggests that Jen and Sylvia have since honed their writing skills and are now happy to appear in cameos, leaving the main roles to real actors. A wise decision ladies.

The biggest problem with Dead Hooker in a Trunk is a technical issue -- I couldn't hear half the dialogue in this movie, and the Blu-ray offers no subtitles. Whether the soundtrack was mixed way too loud, or the boom mic was too far away, or there was background noise, or whatever the case, sound is this movie's weakest trait. And maybe there's a really good movie in here somewhere, I don't know. I'm sure this was one of many issues in having a $2500 budget. Maybe you can't hire a competent sound guy. Your buddy gets the job (CJ Wallis is credited for all sound/mixing/music, he also played Goody Two Shoes, one of the leads). Two things I do appreciate, however, are (1) An ambitious movie on a tight budget, and (2) Badass chicks. So, 5 stars for me.

What exactly have the Soska Sisters done? They were supposed to be the next big thing in horror. American Mary is a stellar movie, but I think Katherine Isabelle in the lead should at least share some of the credit. That movie and this one were both written and directed by the twins. It seems since then they're just hired guns on feature films, which strikes me as odd considering the success of American Mary. Nothing since has been written by them, and this includes a sequel to a bad horror movie (See No Evil 2), and a modern day remake of a David Cronenberg film (Rabid). This, to me, says "slumming it." Can they not get the backing for another one of their own creations? I would much rather see what they have in store creatively next.

Edit: Surprise, looks like I need to see On the Edge (2022), witten and directed by Jen and Sylvia.

Four very different friends, including two sisters, find themselves in an epic predicament when, after a night of partying, they discover a dead hooker in the trunk of their car. While trying to find out just who she is and how she got their, the group encounter several crazy situations, including a serial killer who is hot on their trail.

The film is a breath of fresh air in its originality; it sheds all genre clichés to offer an unpredictable, and for the most part entertaining ride. The film blends several genres, one minute acting as a brutal grindhouse slasher, the next a buddy road trip comedy. I works and it's an accomplishment in itself that a film that attempts to be so many different things never loses focus. Despite this, the film is not as effective as it could have been. The characters are underwritten and unlikable. Their reactions to the situations they encounter are often inappropriate or unrealistic to the point of being distracting at points (after having an eyeball knocked out, exactly how long can one go with no medical attention and a piece of duct tape over the socket?) Still, Dead Hooker in a Trunk is a creative, ambitious first feature from the Soska sisters. With a tighter script and a bigger budget, they certainly could be forces within the genre.

FrightMeter Grade: B-

I liked the title, sounds a bit like those good old exploitations but what a terrible thing this was. Once started I thought, yes, this is going to be good but once the girls are watching the trunk I knew what I was getting. Trash.

Written by the Soska sisters and even played and directed by them it is obviously a ultra low budget. There aren't any real effects to see because it's done off screen, well, most of them. But there is a lot of red stuff that I can confirm. Sadly, it's the script and a lot of talking that made it almost unwatchable. I must admit that I grabbed the remote and had the fast forward button ready to push. Some parts are really okay but to many scenes are ridiculous and boring.

Maybe I they had a lot of fun but I rather should let this flick in the trunk straight to the bin.

Gore 0,5/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 1/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5