Sexy Killer

This is the movie that would have resulted if a Spanish fashion designer had adapted American Psycho whilst on acid. Full of jokes and nods to the genre (not all of which work), but this is still well worth a watch.

SEXY KILLER is a one-of-a-kind Spanish production that tells the story of the titular character, a female serial killer who goes around bumping off everybody who falls foul of her. The story is told in a light-hearted and jokey way despite the copious amounts of spraying bloodshed and gore, with the star frequently breaking the fourth wall of cinema by turning to address the viewer.

It's a simplistic tale but a madcap one, packed with high energy. The narrative is jiggled with so that various parts are told in flashback, perhaps to hide what would otherwise be a predictable tale. The main issue I had with it was that I found chief actress Macarena Gomez's acting to be a bit lacking and her character to be entirely unsympathetic; if they'd somehow managed to make the killer a likable creation then this would have been a lot better.

Still, things do pick up in the second half, with a twist in the story bringing zombies to play, and then we get some BRAINDEAD-style mayhem in the big climax. Horror fans will enjoy the many and frequent references to classics of the genre, but make no mistake, this is a simple black comedy done up to look like more than it is.

What starts off as a slasher parody ends up as a zombie movie going through a morgue and Re-Animator phases. The first couple of minutes of Sexykiller are quite charming as a slasher threatens a campus. Early on we find out that the slasher is a girl named Barbara, a medical student. Her dog is names Jason- just one of the many horror movie references- and when the dog is run over, she grabs the driver and proceeds to tell us how she ended up being a killer. At that point things go downhill quickly. The parody is piled on exaggerated strokes, the cast starts breaking out in song, there are infomercial parodies, it goes on and on, we find out a bit about her childhood and teen years. Cops arrive to investigate the crimes. Two other students created a device to visualize people's dreams and also serves to show what a victim saw during their last minutes. They hope to be able to catch the killer that way.

Barbara and one of these guys fall in love but don't express it till later. Meanwhile, the guys realize that their device when used on the dead, brings them back to live and turns them into zombies. Throughout the movie no one realizes that Barbara, who is not all that subtle about her murderous inclination, is the killer. Fortunately the parody elements slowly fade away and the movie becomes more of a good comedy with serious horror elements.

Overall, the script is smart, the parody is not all funny though. It becomes a bit funnier once it settles for comedy. The movie is gory though, and if this crew would have gone for a straightforward horror movie or a mild horror comedy, they could created a pretty good movie.

The opening scene in this film gives a pretty good indication of the philosophy of the film-makers. In it we have a group of hot semi-naked young women in a changing room, while an ominous character in a Scream mask looks on from a secret location; it ends with the tables being turned and the intruder being killed by one of the cute girls. The reason that this scene indicates what this film is all about is that it ridicules clichés of the horror genre while simultaneously celebrating them. This Spanish horror-comedy is a film that resolutely does not take itself seriously. It feels a bit like Pieces (1982) meets Re-Animator (1984) with a female serial killer. The story revolves around a series of university campus killings carried out by a medical student called Bárbara. But that's only half the story as it also includes a development later in the story where a new serum is introduced that has the ability of bringing back the dead, meaning that all the killers victims return as flesh-eating zombies. So, it would be fair to say that this one certainly tries to cover its horror bases that's for sure.

The lead is Macarena Gómez who gives a good performance here. The role is one that offers a fair bit of fun with the character frequently breaking the fourth wall to tell us her story. The jokes are sometimes very good too, my favourite one being the fact that some male zombies can only be dispatched by shooting them in the penis rather than the traditional target of the head on account of the fact that 'some men only think with their dicks!' The combination of a slasher movie with a zombie flick is one that is of course completely absurd but it essentially works here in a film that is wilfully ridiculous from the outset. It's a fast-paced and amusing movie which at least tries to come up with something new, even if it does just mash genres up in order to do this. Definitely an entertaining film though and one which seems to have gone under the radar somewhat which doesn't seem right and, ultimately, you can't go too wrong with a premise involving a hot girl serial killer.

Sexy Killer is a Spanish comedy about a woman who as the title states is a serial killer and very sexy. Can she continue her work of killing and find love?

This movie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival Sept 12th 2008 and was received very positively in both showings. Festival audiences generally greet films warmly, but both audiences were exceptionally enthusiastic about this film. In the showing I attended people laughed throughout and there were even a couple instances were they applauded DURING the movie, which is a rare thing. And this was even considering that it was being seen by a largely English-speaking audience and it's in Spanish with sub-titles!

I think what made people respond so strongly was first, the movie was just a huge amount of fun. If there was slow boring moment in the movie I wasn't aware of it. Secondly was the serial killer herself, played charismatically by Macarena Gomez, who is so unapologetic, certain in her own justification for killing, so gleeful in her work, that you can't help but hope the best for her! You may even find yourself cheering for her!!

While Sexy Killer, does reference a few Hollywood horror films, it is far more than a parody and stands on it's own a good solid comedy. There are some gory moments in the movie (a couple of which get huge laughs), so it might not be OK for very young children but it is all played for fun.

This was my last movie of the Festival and a great way to end it!