The fact that this film was shot on video means nothing to me. The fact that the acting, at times, is quite terrible, means even less. the only thing that takes away from the awsomeness of this movie is how quickly everything is played out. Not that it's too short. The pointless scenes are the only ones that drag. Yet, any scene which progresses the story feels very rushed, which, at times, kinda comes off as half-assed. This is my one and only gripe with this movie.
Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about how awesome The Devil's Bloody Playthings really is. Inspired by Roman Polanski's Repulsion, as well as Dave Friedman's Sexploitation stuff, from the 60's. A fairly basic (Z-grade) production about a woman named Christine (Ruby LaRocca), who tapes her roommates during embarrassing moments, only to threaten to show the tape to their families. Blackmailing them into being her slave. Christine doesn't seem to need, or really even want a slave. Being insane as she is, Christine constantly needs to be barking orders at someone. Christine is a control-junkie. Without control, Christine has nothing, and probably feels as if she is nothing. When one roommate gets fed up, and calls her out, game over, and the former-victim simply moves out. Time to start all over again. Enter Karen (Zoe Moonshine). Karen just moved in to town and is looking for a place to live, which is convenient for Christine, because she needs a new roommate (victim). Luckily, Karen is quiet and naive, and already lets the abrasive Christine do all the talking. At first, Christine comes off as pushy, but once the camera comes out, Christine seemingly has her new roommate right where she wants her. Besides being an obvious Sexploitation throw-back, The Devil's Bloody Playthings is a fascinating, yet, slightly humorous study of how much emotional abuse the meek can withstand before being pushed too far. So much better than I though it would be, The Devil's Bloody Playthings is some superior Exploitation for a new generation.
Look, I'm not one of those Hollywood-loving tools who can't take a movie seriously if the acting isn't perfect, but let's talk about the adorable Miss Moonshine's performance for one second. I'm not sure what happened here. Maybe she was given very few lines, because the character of Karen is just quiet. Somehow I doubt it. Zoe Moonshine doesn't seem to even attempt to give a realistic reaction to anything her evil roommate puts her through. Ruby Larocca, on the other hand, does her job very well. Making the audience despise you in the first minute of the first scene isn't as easy as it sounds. Ruby may be no Meryl Streep either, but she obviously knows what she's doing, and ultimately makes this film worth watching, considering she provides 90% of the dialog. Although, I'd much rather look at Zoe Moonshine not act than listen to Ruby run her mouth, because, once again, this chick is adorable, and I hope that pretty little thing gets herself some acting lessons, soon, because bless her heart, she needs them. If Connie Mason's performance in Blood Feast and Two Thousand Maniacs didn't get under your skin, then you should have no gripes with this movie. 7/10