Chainsaw Sally

I decided to give this one a try from the pretty positive reviews, silly me, I thought this tale of a mild mannered librarian turned psycho killer had some potential. But the sad truth was that everything about this mess of a film is simply awful. From the porn-caliber acting to the lame ass comedy. The special effects (aka. Gore) was all right, but the rest of the movie was so bad that mere words can't convey how utterly disastrous it is. I thought that having the legendary Gunner Hansen AND legend H G Lewis would be a good sign and I'd find a diamond in the rough. Alas, no I couldn't have been more wrong. Avoid this film at all costs as it can only bring you misery. I consider myself a huge B-movie horror fan and even I loathed this film. That should tell you something.

My Grade: D-

DVD Extras: Commentary by Director/writer Jimmyo Burril, actress April Burril, and actor Shawn Jones: 30 minute documentary on the film; an interview with Gunnar Hansen; Story boards; a music video; promotional trailer; and trailers for "Skin Crawl", "Bacterium", "Creature from the hillbilly lagoon", "Chantel", "Sinful", "Shock-O-Rama", "Feeding the Masses", "Prison a go go", "Bite me!", "Screaming Dead", Suburben Nightmare", "Slime City", "Women's prison massacre", "Criminally Insane", "Satan's Black Wedding", & "Nurse Sherry"

Eye Candy: Lesley Vermot got topless

OK - I know it is not a great movie (not really even a good one) but I have to admit that I LOVED this flick! There is something charming about a mild mannered librarian with an almost super-hero, goth, chainsaw wielding alter ego with a transvestite little brother. My friends and I laughed throughout the entire thing - and kept making comments like, "...if she were our local librarian - we'd totally hang out!" I also really enjoyed the music. We were all ready to absolutely hate (love/hate relationship) this movie, but by the end - we all had to admit that we liked it. I think I'm planning on a purchase so I can see it again!

Now, here's one that I went waaaaay to long without seeing. And might I add, an experience more than worth-the-wait. Chainsaw Sally, to me, comes off, simply as a love letter to real Horror flicks, as well as real Horror fans. A perfect example of why low-budget Horror is far superior to the big-budget mainstream bores that will forever clog the studio-owned theaters and TV stations. Played by the gorgeous April Monique Burrill, Sally, a soft-spoken librarian, first appears to be a reasonable enough person. Although, it's probably a good idea to keep a low profile, considering Sally goes out at night and slaughters semi-innocent people. Kind of a rip-off-ish story of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. When Sally was a child, she witnessed the murder of her father, played by Gunnar Hansen. So, now, Sally is Convinced that it's her job to defend her home, and her brother, and to to slaughter anyone who she considers "bad". So, basically, Sally is crazy, and she's right in the middle of a killing spree. Aside from that, Sally is reasonable enough. And if a totally entertaining storyline, hilarious script, and hot lead actress isn't enough reason to check this one out, just keep in mind, that our pal, that's right, good ol' H.G. Lewis got himself a role in this 21st century cult classic. For truly one of the sweetest double features I could possibly think of, pair this one with up with Sick Girl. And if you end up liking this movie I speak so highly of, you'll be pleased to know that Chainsaw Sally: The Series (season one) will be released on DVD, this month, from the good people at Troma. I guess we missed the original airing on NBC. Oh well, It's gonna be rad. I guess it's supposed to serve as a sequel, in TV show format.As for the original, we're talking'pure entertainment, lots of laughs, two very appropriate cameos, and not a dull moment, with the beauty of April Monique Burril being the highlight. In my opinion, the only thing stopping Chainsaw Sally from achieving B-perfection is an obvious and unfortunate lack of extreme gore. But by all means, don't let that stop you from enjoying this quality independent Horror flick. Gore or no gore, Chainsaw Sally is a rare bright spot in modern Exploitation. Passionately recommended to Horror enthusiasts... I mean real Horror enthusiasts. If you like The Sixth Sense, and you've never heard of Two Thousand Maniacs, You just won't get it, and it is my privilege to inform you that reading this review has been a complete and utter waste of time. 8/10

This movie is really bad. I don't mean cheap or amateurish, as I understand low budget independent film making has many obstacles. My problem is that it is written terribly, acted even worse and is just a massive rip off of John Waters brilliant, Serial Mom. The title character ( played by the fleshy and comatose April Burrill ) kills those who offend her sensibilities by acting in ways she feels are unacceptable. Bad manners, talking in the library, not recycling ( whoops, that's from Serial Mom, sorry )... well, u get the picture. Basically the writer has taken Beverly Sutphin, Waters's domestic maniac, and put her in some punk rock ( read: I bought this cool gear at Hot Topic ) clothes. I could let the ripping off slide if the damn movie was even a little entertaining but it's not. I gave this one star. I do like to find one positive in any movie I hate, and in this, it's the actress Kristen Hudsen. She is beautiful, sexy and the only person who appears on screen that can act. Why isn't she Chainsaw Sally????

Despite an engaging central performance from April Monique Burril as sexy schizophrenic Sally, the goth girl with a penchant for power-tool mayhem, this low budget trash horror didn't quite cut it for me, never attempting the true horror one might expect from a film that frequently references The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, nor delivering the gruesome graphic splatter from one that features a cameo from none other than the 'godfather of gore' himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis.

Director Jimmyo Burril, lucky spouse of leading lady April, clearly has a great love of the genre, and his script throws up plenty of suitably warped and offensive situations, but the full potential of his delightfully deviant material is often left unrealised: Sally's early murders are frustratingly gore-free, her severing of a guy's tally-whacker remains strictly out of frame (although the addition of the sparkler to the wound was a nice touch), the splattery demise of a woman forced to consume acid is regrettably brief, and some nail-gun action towards the end really could have been much nastier.

Whilst the absence of in-your-face, gross-out effects can probably be put down to budgetary restraints, no such excuse can be applied to the low standard of acting from all but its attractive star or the weak stabs at dark humour.

4.5 out of 10, rounded up to 5 for IMDb (although I was tempted to round it down to 4 to counterbalance the suspiciously high proportion of over-enthusiastic reviews here on IMDb).