The Bitches (1992) User Reviews

The Bitches by Richard Kern

[hawkeyesroost · 6/10 · 12 August 2010]

The Bitches is a short film in the same vein as most of Richard Kern's work. It wants to shock you as much as possible in the shortest amount of time possible. I think this film has merit and I also think that there is some symbolism in it. The turn-around at the end can be a metaphorical reversal on typical roles for sure. The ending does not go where you think it will, unless you are an avid Kern fan and know his other work. That is all i will say on the end. ;).

The music is excellent, I have to agree with the other reviewer on that point. It adds a rather interesting and sublime counter-point to what is on screen and makes the rawness of the film go down a little easier (pun not intended, well maybe a little intended).

All in all a quick and dirty piece to shock the "Norms" out of their state of indifference. Worth the watch at least once and possibly one of the best Kern films to start with if you are new to his work.

Yet more uncomfortable Dickie Kern fun

[mphtower · 7 July 2002]

Well. The Bitches. Okay, here's the basic plot synopsis. Two girls are in a sparsely furnished apartment scandily clad and being generally unpleasant to each other. A guy comes in, and they start to engage in, um, fun. Then the fun turns on itself as, uh, you'd have to see it.

But you don't need to. As with all Richard Kern films, if you've seen one, you've seen them all. They're simply variations on being shocking in different ways. Is there symbolism in them? Nothing above the kinds of things a 6th grader would get, and a 6th grader sure as heck shouldn't being seeing this. It's really more fascinating as a documentary of people doing things to/with/on each other.

On the upside, the music is fantastic. Honestly, this is worth watching just for the excellent music (the composer escapes me at the moment). It seems to have very little connection with the film, but definitely works. Imagine Foetus' agro-jazz stuff gone more jazz and you sorta have the idea.

Enjoy.

Experimental pornography's new poster-child

[StevePulaski · 9/10 · 2 March 2015]

Pornography, in its most primitive or contemporary sense, is something to relish because it gives many adequate pleasure that they either can't readily achieve in the current moment or, perhaps, for an indefinite time in their lives. Experimental pornography, however, is something that doesn't always provoke the kind of masturbatory tendencies or arousing qualities that most mainstream pornography can. However, Richard Kern's experimental short The Bitches manages to be equal parts subversive and utterly wild as well as being arousing and humbly erotic.

We open watching two beautiful women, Annabelle Davies and Linda Serbu, fondle and caress one another in the presence of another man (Charles Wing), who is occasionally invited to partake in the fun with the two beautiful ladies. The ladies are dressed in lingerie and pantyhose, in addition to being topless, which invites dirty-but-not-too-dirty vibes into the mix, up until the last half of the short, which takes an unexpected turn into complete and total perversion. Saying anymore would be spoiling the true insanity, which more-or-less crushes the eroticism in favor for something more taboo and completely unpredictable in a wild sense. Needless to say, I loved it.

The Bitches' black and white cinematography, a common feature for Kern, even his more contemporary work, also provides for a uniquely erotic sense of tone in a way that's totally punk-rock and on point with his filmography. The world needs more of this kind of boundary-breaking, full-fledged, unapologetically original art and Kern delivers here on nearly every level.

Starring: Annabelle Davies, Linda Serbu, and Charles Wing. Directed by: Richard Kern.