I have long been a fan of slasher films... good ones. And heaven knows there are a glut are terrible ones out there. However, this latest entry from South African director Danishka Esterhazy more than fits the bill and checks off all of the correct boxes.
After the death of her mother, Cami and her dad deal with it in diverse ways. She explores her sexuality and he turns into a devout religious zealot. When she is caught experimenting with a young man, he packs her off to a religious rehab center for sex addicts surrounding by an electrified fence. Ironic considering that Cami doesn't have hardly any experience to qualify as an addict outside of intense curiosity. Although initially miserable, Cami strikes up a friendship with the other girls and falls head over heels in lust with one of the male "addicts". Then a killer in a devil mask starts stalking and offing the inmates.
The basic story is pretty straight forward for a slasher film, although I grant that a sex addict rehab center is original. And one has to love that for a center hoping to repress sexual urgings, even the dry counselors can't seem to restrain their baser instincts. However, the film has interesting flourishes about religion, repression, sexuality, independence, etc.
It also knows when to be tongue in cheek and when to be suspenseful. There is gore (perhaps a bit too much for my taste), but the humor balances it out. The ending is fine and I love the whole "Whore of Babylon" motto as a rallying cry.
The performances are largely fine, albeit some are pretty broad and border on scenery chewing, but it seems to work. The largely unknown South African cast do well in disguising any accents. Cassiel Eatock-Winnik is appealing, fun and gutsy as the lead, and she gets able support from the rest of the cast, especially Savana Tardeiu and N'kone Mametja. Alex McGregor and Bjorn Steinbach are the two head counselors, who are big on lecturing the inmates, while sneaking away to jump each other at inappropriate moments. Not a good thing considering that the dreaded devil masked killer usually shows up on the scene post-coitus.
Director Esterhazy effectively reinvented/paid homage to Slumber Party Massacre with her acclaimed remake a year or two ago. She does equally well here. The emphasis is far more on the female characters than the male. They are the focal points and the most developed and it pays off.
The women are all attractive, but are not really seen as sex objects or as victims. They have sex, but are unashamed about it. There are also a handful of young guys at the center. All of them beyond easy on the eyes. I particularly liked Brett Kruger as her love interest Dan, who enters framed by heavenly light while Cami stares gob-smacked.
It is also refreshing that Esterhazy understands what "the female gaze" means with Slumber Party Massacre and now this film. Other filmmakers throw the term around, but do not seem to understand what it is with it flying over the heads of both male filmmakers and female filmmakers hoping to win the approval of their male counterparts. In Slumber Party Massacre, the supporting male cast was definitely the eye candy, with the eye-popping Eden Classens delivering a memorable nude shower scene. Esterhazy ups the ante here. The first victim is one of the guys who post-coitus is strutting around naked in the woods before meeting his maker. A fun joke has the guys trying to peek at Cami after her arrival in the shower room, but she never gets undressed and just sits and cries, causing one of the dudes to lament that "this has never been so sad before". However, later when Cami is down because no one believes her about a killer on the loose, her friends escort her for a pick-me-up at a peephole outside of the men's shower room, where she gets to gander at the hot guys soaping up naked in the shower, including her object of lust Dan. I cannot understate how monumental it is that genre films like this are finally able to understand that young women are sexually curious as well and the films are willing to give the male cast the same treatment that women have been getting for the last 50 years.
The film is fun, sexy, gory and suspenseful. A perfect cocktail for a night at home in front of the TV. I hope to see more work like this from Esterhazy. If she becomes the new go-to person for slasher suspense and keeps up this quality, I won't be complaining. Particularly if she keeps telling it from the perspective of the female gaze.
After the death of her mother, Cami and her dad deal with it in diverse ways. She explores her sexuality and he turns into a devout religious zealot. When she is caught experimenting with a young man, he packs her off to a religious rehab center for sex addicts surrounding by an electrified fence. Ironic considering that Cami doesn't have hardly any experience to qualify as an addict outside of intense curiosity. Although initially miserable, Cami strikes up a friendship with the other girls and falls head over heels in lust with one of the male "addicts". Then a killer in a devil mask starts stalking and offing the inmates.
The basic story is pretty straight forward for a slasher film, although I grant that a sex addict rehab center is original. And one has to love that for a center hoping to repress sexual urgings, even the dry counselors can't seem to restrain their baser instincts. However, the film has interesting flourishes about religion, repression, sexuality, independence, etc.
It also knows when to be tongue in cheek and when to be suspenseful. There is gore (perhaps a bit too much for my taste), but the humor balances it out. The ending is fine and I love the whole "Whore of Babylon" motto as a rallying cry.
The performances are largely fine, albeit some are pretty broad and border on scenery chewing, but it seems to work. The largely unknown South African cast do well in disguising any accents. Cassiel Eatock-Winnik is appealing, fun and gutsy as the lead, and she gets able support from the rest of the cast, especially Savana Tardeiu and N'kone Mametja. Alex McGregor and Bjorn Steinbach are the two head counselors, who are big on lecturing the inmates, while sneaking away to jump each other at inappropriate moments. Not a good thing considering that the dreaded devil masked killer usually shows up on the scene post-coitus.
Director Esterhazy effectively reinvented/paid homage to Slumber Party Massacre with her acclaimed remake a year or two ago. She does equally well here. The emphasis is far more on the female characters than the male. They are the focal points and the most developed and it pays off.
The women are all attractive, but are not really seen as sex objects or as victims. They have sex, but are unashamed about it. There are also a handful of young guys at the center. All of them beyond easy on the eyes. I particularly liked Brett Kruger as her love interest Dan, who enters framed by heavenly light while Cami stares gob-smacked.
It is also refreshing that Esterhazy understands what "the female gaze" means with Slumber Party Massacre and now this film. Other filmmakers throw the term around, but do not seem to understand what it is with it flying over the heads of both male filmmakers and female filmmakers hoping to win the approval of their male counterparts. In Slumber Party Massacre, the supporting male cast was definitely the eye candy, with the eye-popping Eden Classens delivering a memorable nude shower scene. Esterhazy ups the ante here. The first victim is one of the guys who post-coitus is strutting around naked in the woods before meeting his maker. A fun joke has the guys trying to peek at Cami after her arrival in the shower room, but she never gets undressed and just sits and cries, causing one of the dudes to lament that "this has never been so sad before". However, later when Cami is down because no one believes her about a killer on the loose, her friends escort her for a pick-me-up at a peephole outside of the men's shower room, where she gets to gander at the hot guys soaping up naked in the shower, including her object of lust Dan. I cannot understate how monumental it is that genre films like this are finally able to understand that young women are sexually curious as well and the films are willing to give the male cast the same treatment that women have been getting for the last 50 years.
The film is fun, sexy, gory and suspenseful. A perfect cocktail for a night at home in front of the TV. I hope to see more work like this from Esterhazy. If she becomes the new go-to person for slasher suspense and keeps up this quality, I won't be complaining. Particularly if she keeps telling it from the perspective of the female gaze.
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