KillerKiller

I am sure I enjoyed this film for different reasons than most men. I love the sub-genre of gay-horror film or what I call Homo Horror. The kind of films that established David DeCoteau (Voodoo academy, Brotherhood franchise, House Usher)as the Pope of homo erotic Horror. Homo Horror rocks, cameras lingering on hard bodies. Jocks in peril.

Now Killer "Killer" did not have such blatant homo erotic overtone, it only flirts with the subject.

A bunch of male serial killers, being stalked by the dark angel, search for redemption. Increased testosterone levels drive this male-to-male film. Also, the two male leads were very good looking. The acting was above-average. The easy conversation between Dutch Dore-Boize and Cy Henty.

Atmospheric sets framed good performances and solid direction.

Richard Collins work as Perry was top notch.

A strange little character study worth your time.

RELEASED TO TV in 2007 and written/directed by Pat Higgins, "KillerKiller" takes place in a ramshackle prison-asylum housing only serial killers. One morn the doors to the cells are mysteriously open, the building seems to have aged overnight and the guards have all disappeared, but an impenetrable mist encompasses the facility, preventing the small number of remaining prisoners from escaping. They start getting killed one-by-one as they bicker, fight and blame each other. Interestingly, the curvy blonde that's slaying them looks like a traditional serial killer victim: A babysitter in a shower, a camper, a cheerleader, etc.

This is a talky slasher and I was unable to make out quite a bit of the mumbled British dialogue. Too bad the DVD didn't supply subtitles because a dialogue-driven picture like this demands that the verbiage be understood. (If you're from the UK this probably won't be a problem).

The rundown hospital is a great setting for a horror flick, but there aren't enough highlights to keep one's interest. The actors who play the inmates take the material seriously and give it their all, but they're generally uninteresting protagonists and I found myself thoroughly bored by the halfway point (37 minutes). This is unfortunate because it's clear that Higgins put a lot of time into the dialogue-driven script. Danielle Laws is ravishing as 'Helle', the killer blonde, but the film inexplicably doesn't take advantage of her presence. For a dynamic low-budget slasher that takes place in a dilapidated asylum and has great aesthetic value see "Death Tunnel" (2005) (see my review for details).

THE MOVIE RUNS about 76 minutes and was shot in Essex, England.

GRADE: D

Well......I really can not believe I have sat through 117mins of this pointless diabolical piece of rubbish.

The acting was terrible with dire characters.

The ending was totally predictable n pathetic.

Only watch this if watching paint dry does not turn you on.

Ridiculous.

Its a low-budget and poorly directed show. I felt my time is wasted by watching it. I can accept low-budget horror film but this is quite below my expectations somehow. It have a nice twist for slasher movies prototype and it could have been so much better. The gore part is also rather unrealistic and rather minimum. I just felt the story line could have more engaging points and elements. The show is rather slow paced at times with a lot of unnecessary dialogues. The plot is also rather unclear and the ending left me confused with questions unanswered. I would rate it at 2 out of 10 and would not recommend to anyone wanting to have a good thrill watching horror movies unless there is really nothing to do.

The last time I had saw a film with the director in attendance was during a Horror film festival where the organiser had decided to revive the early 80s rubbish sci-fi/horror-fest Inseminoid, probably solely on the basis that the director had offered to make an appearance. So Norman Warren made a visibly proud introduction to the film in front of several hundred horror fans, before suffering the ignominy of having nearly every one of the attendant audience laughing throughout his film. Regrettably, I am suitably embarrassed to report I was one of those viewers unable to stifle their laughter.

Which brings us to the Portsmouth HorrorFest 06 where, among others, KillerKiller made its public debut in front of director Pat Higgins. Fear struck me that a similar situation may arise, especially considering the extremely low budget involved, which can invariably mean there's a fine line between the good and the laughably bad. Happily, I'm able to report that KillerKiller is a case of the former.

Filmed in an extremely photogenic and atmospheric disused hospital, a group of incarcerated serial killers awake in their cells to themselves alone inside the same building that has apparently aged overnight. All of the prison doors are open and they are apparently free to leave. That is if it was not for the impenetrable mist outside... As they bicker between themselves and speculate about their situation (even mockingly wondering whether they are dead and in purgatory) they are steadily picked off one by one by the same woman, portraying one of their past victims in flashback as they relive in their past crimes.

Pat's previous film, TrashHouse was a hugely enjoyable romp marred by lack of quality sets and some ill-advised CGI. Both of these problems are rectified in this film, in that little of the latter is evident, and the hospital masquerading as the prison oozes character and coupled with effective lighting becomes an essential character in the film. The quality of acting can frequently be a problem in low budget affairs, and thankfully this area takes a real step up too where it is required. Although some of the supporting characters can lack charisma and presence, the two main leads, Cy Henty and Dutch Dore-Boize, pull off their roles extremely well and give extremely credible performances.

Pat's direction is extremely assured, professional and never jarring - the pregnant pauses or poor jump-cuts that frequently inhabit such films are never once evident. The soundscapes are effective as well, providing a good sense of unease throughout the film. Like TrashHouse, the dialogue is punchy with nice interplay between the murderers and bridges the inherent problems of being more character than action based.

There are a few problems though: The dialogue mix was at times muffled, making it difficult to fully decipher all conversations. The potentially explosive character of the serial killer kept locked in the basement does not quite come to fruition when he finally escapes, and I couldn't help but feel there needed an extra ratchet of tension and urgency as the climax approached.

However, make no mistake that this is a significant step up in all directions from TrashHouse. Whereas however enjoyable, that was a film that was really only for the zero-budget fans, KillerKiller frequently belies its status and achieves a level where it can be enjoyed by a much larger audience.

So, most definitely a success then (I'm more than happy to report), and again on the basis of what he has produced here, Pat can only go on from strength to strength.