Director: Trevor Matthews.
Writer: Nick Gordon.
Cast: Ali Cobrin, Adam DiMarco, Slaine, Alyson Bath and Elysia Rotaru.
Girl House is an effective slasher film. From one of the filmmakers of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) and The Shrine (2010), Trevor Matthews, Girl House brings a lot of bloody murder to the small screen. Full of dark humour, this indie horror feature also updates the slasher feature, with its use of technology; Girl House is often shot unconventionally. Also, the film's central antagonist uses some of this technology to his own advantage as he violently tries to heal his perceived sexual humiliation. Girl House is an excellent slasher feature, with a fresh look at this genre.
The story begins with Loverboy. Played by Slaine, Loverboy experiences sexual humiliation at an early age. Two girls insult his man parts. But, Loverboy gets his revenge on a remote bridge. Fast forward several years, Loverboy has adapted to adult life, slightly. However, he is again humiliated by a group of web cam' girls. He turns to violence, once more. Soon, the semi-clad cam' girls are sliced and diced or overcooked in an underground sauna. Only the protagonist, Kylie (Ali Corbin), a poor college student, has any smarts to overcome this brutish attacker.
Much of the conflict is brought by the killer, Loverboy. This antagonist is even slightly fleshed out. Using a flashback, some of the killer's childhood is revealed and explored in an early scene. These early scenes develop the killer's psyche and motivations for killing. He feels persecuted for his sexual desire. And, when Loverboy engages the other characters in the film, the action really takes off. Much of the film is focused on this character, with the protagonist less compelling. Loverboy is a well-rounded antagonist, which is unusual in the horror genre.
Writer Nick Gordon has incorporated technology effectively in this film. Much like Zachary Donohue's The Den (2013), Girl House is often shown through unconventional camera sources. The Girl House, which is like a sexy sorority house, is filled with cameras. Camera are housed in the shower, in bedrooms and near the pool. So, director Matthews uses these cameras to tell the story more naturally. Steady shooting and tracked shots are also used. But, there is a complexity in the shooting style, here. For instance, in a late scene, a night vision camera is used as a tool of murder. All of the bloody action is shot and shown with this device. The result is bizarre, but effective. Girl House uses a diverse shooting style to tell a compelling story.
That story is full of dark humour. Focusing on the horror elements, comedy elements are still prominent. Many of the comedy elements show themselves in the second half of the film. By this time, Loverboy is rampaging through the Girl House. In one scene, a character is beaten with an elephant sized dildo, which made this viewer laugh. Another character is chopped up and forced to type without fingers. This scene is macabre, but also disturbingly funny. Later, another character laments: "I'm never going to another porn site, again" as one character's murder is streamed live. All of these scenes and instances of dialogue offer some levity in all of the bloody murder.
Girl House is now available through Video-on-demand (Feb. 13th) and fans of slashers are encouraged to take a look. The film offers lots of gory moments as a slasher film should. As well, there is a good deal of nudity here. The nudity is appropriate to the story and not gratuitous. The killer is slightly developed and the reason of the central conflict is believable. Many of the characters are caricatures, but Girl House is still very watchable. This viewer enjoyed this new modern look at the slasher feature and others will too.
Overall: 7.5 out of 10 (good acting, unique cat and mouse sequences involving the hack of interior cameras, a slightly predictable ending with a final girl).
A trailer for the film is hosted here:
Girl House at 28DLA
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis Email Subscription
Writer: Nick Gordon.
Cast: Ali Cobrin, Adam DiMarco, Slaine, Alyson Bath and Elysia Rotaru.
Girl House is an effective slasher film. From one of the filmmakers of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer (2007) and The Shrine (2010), Trevor Matthews, Girl House brings a lot of bloody murder to the small screen. Full of dark humour, this indie horror feature also updates the slasher feature, with its use of technology; Girl House is often shot unconventionally. Also, the film's central antagonist uses some of this technology to his own advantage as he violently tries to heal his perceived sexual humiliation. Girl House is an excellent slasher feature, with a fresh look at this genre.
The story begins with Loverboy. Played by Slaine, Loverboy experiences sexual humiliation at an early age. Two girls insult his man parts. But, Loverboy gets his revenge on a remote bridge. Fast forward several years, Loverboy has adapted to adult life, slightly. However, he is again humiliated by a group of web cam' girls. He turns to violence, once more. Soon, the semi-clad cam' girls are sliced and diced or overcooked in an underground sauna. Only the protagonist, Kylie (Ali Corbin), a poor college student, has any smarts to overcome this brutish attacker.
Much of the conflict is brought by the killer, Loverboy. This antagonist is even slightly fleshed out. Using a flashback, some of the killer's childhood is revealed and explored in an early scene. These early scenes develop the killer's psyche and motivations for killing. He feels persecuted for his sexual desire. And, when Loverboy engages the other characters in the film, the action really takes off. Much of the film is focused on this character, with the protagonist less compelling. Loverboy is a well-rounded antagonist, which is unusual in the horror genre.
Writer Nick Gordon has incorporated technology effectively in this film. Much like Zachary Donohue's The Den (2013), Girl House is often shown through unconventional camera sources. The Girl House, which is like a sexy sorority house, is filled with cameras. Camera are housed in the shower, in bedrooms and near the pool. So, director Matthews uses these cameras to tell the story more naturally. Steady shooting and tracked shots are also used. But, there is a complexity in the shooting style, here. For instance, in a late scene, a night vision camera is used as a tool of murder. All of the bloody action is shot and shown with this device. The result is bizarre, but effective. Girl House uses a diverse shooting style to tell a compelling story.
That story is full of dark humour. Focusing on the horror elements, comedy elements are still prominent. Many of the comedy elements show themselves in the second half of the film. By this time, Loverboy is rampaging through the Girl House. In one scene, a character is beaten with an elephant sized dildo, which made this viewer laugh. Another character is chopped up and forced to type without fingers. This scene is macabre, but also disturbingly funny. Later, another character laments: "I'm never going to another porn site, again" as one character's murder is streamed live. All of these scenes and instances of dialogue offer some levity in all of the bloody murder.
Girl House is now available through Video-on-demand (Feb. 13th) and fans of slashers are encouraged to take a look. The film offers lots of gory moments as a slasher film should. As well, there is a good deal of nudity here. The nudity is appropriate to the story and not gratuitous. The killer is slightly developed and the reason of the central conflict is believable. Many of the characters are caricatures, but Girl House is still very watchable. This viewer enjoyed this new modern look at the slasher feature and others will too.
Overall: 7.5 out of 10 (good acting, unique cat and mouse sequences involving the hack of interior cameras, a slightly predictable ending with a final girl).
A trailer for the film is hosted here:
Girl House at 28DLA
Subscribe to 28 Days Later: An Analysis Email Subscription
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