SEVERE INJURIES
PLOT-A bungling wannabe serial killer targets a sorority house party for murderous mayhem.
VIOLENCE-Several bloody stabbings occur, plus one decapitation, a shooting and a snapped neck. This is a comedy, so all these scenes are played for laughs.
SEX/NUDITY-None, although it is implied that several of the party-goers are "doing it".
WHY I WATCHED IT-I am a fan of filmmaking team Amy Lynn Best and Mike Watt, who were responsible for the standout indie release WERE-GRRL a while back. I love their style, their originality, and their attitude. Plus, you will not find dialogue like theirs ANYWHERE else.
THE DOPE-I hope that Amy and Mike continue making movies, because as long as they do, I know I'll always have something brilliant to look forward to seeing. The indie scene needs more voices like them, more filmmakers like them, but as their luck would have it, the market is over-populated with empty-headed titty gorefests that are boring and complacent...so they really have no competetion! SEVERE INJURIES has the same qualities that made WERE GRRL so good: great performances, dialogue that pops with sharp wit and intelligent humor, and a fun premise that isn't full of worn-out cliches. However, Best and Watt show a lot of progress as filmmakers, both in technical terms and in the all-around scope of the production. The camera work is first-rate, the pacing and editing works perfectly, and the story and characters are memorable and interesting to the audience (me).
Like the best spoofs, SEVERE INJURIES has high re-watchability value. I think I saw it 5 times before writing this review, and I haven't had it for very long! All the actors were perfect for their roles, but some were just too damn awesome for their own good. In particular, Jenna Bull-Trombold's performance as one of the ditsy sorority girls was flawless and hysterical. She struck just the right balance and didn't over-do or under-do it. The sorority chick role is one I've seen many times in B-movies, and I think she is my favorite of all. Amy Lynn Best deserves high praise for playing a lead role (excellently I might add) and directing the film at the same time. This is not an easy thing to do, so she has my highest respect. And just like with WERE-GRRL, my all-time favorite actor Debbie Rochon plays a small but memorable role in this one too. As if SEVERE INJURIES wasn't incredible enough already!
MEMORABLE SCENES-"I stand corrected."
NOTES-Look for this film to be released by Sub Rosa Studios later this year, and go to The Happy Cloud Pictures website for more information on the people involved in making it.
(February 2004)