Hard-nosed and demanding macho photographer Jack Hackerman (excellently played to the fiercely rugged hilt by Ross Hagen) and a handful of models go to a remote rural ranch to shoot pictures for a forthcoming calender. Things turn sour when a crazed cross-dressing misogynistic psycho dressed up like a nurse starts bumping off the ladies. Hagen, who both co-directed the film with John Stewart and co-wrote the amusingly tawdry script, takes a while to get the story going in the rather draggy opening half, but picks up steam and really starts cooking once the killings begin and goes for broke with a gloriously over-the-top explosive conclusion. Moreover, Hagen plunges into the delightfully deranged deep end with deliciously histrionic eye-rolling gusto as the giggly wisecracking transvestite nutjob. The murder set pieces are appropriately bloody and brutal. Better still, the female cast members are all quite sexy and attractive: Keely Simms contributes an endearingly sweet turn as the perky Cindy, the always ravishing redhead Juliette Cummins burns up the screen with her customary saucy aplomb as a naughty slut who gets slashed up in a bathtub after performing a sizzling striptease, Susan Jennifer Sullivan amuses as the fetching, but stand-offish Lisa, Lisa Axelrod is smoking hot as the lusty Jennifer, and gorgeously statuesque blonde stunner Dona Speir makes a brief appearance as bitchy veteran model Nancy Johnson. The guys are likewise solid: Gregory Scott Cummins as Cindy's possessive, hot-tempered boyfriend Johnny, Troy Donahue as Jack's loyal assistant Alan, and Hoke Howell as snoopy private investigator Lara. The flashy photo sessions with their shamelessly blatant blend of sex and violence are total trashy hoots. The slick cinematography by Thomas L. Callaway and Gary Graver gives the movie a nice glittery look. Stu Goldberg's groovy-rockin' score hits the funky spot. A good deal of entertaining Grade B schlocky fun.
Review of Click: The Calendar Girl Killer
