Director: Eddie Lengyel
Year: 2018
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: Slay Belles
Genre: Slasher
Plot:
Going to a secluded woman’s house, a group of women on a community service project delivering food to the needy at Christmas find themselves stalked and killed by a mysterious masked killer going around killing everyone around them, forcing them to dig deep into themselves to escape.
Review:
This one wasn’t too bad of a slasher. This is where the film really works the best, as the straightforward nature of these scenes comes off really well. The overlong prologue that shows the killer hunting down the family in the house in several extended sequences around the property, both inside and outside, starts this one with some great stalking scenes and brutal encounters with the oblivious family. That carries over into the latter half, where the switch to more sudden attacks on the girls manages to utilize the shock really well by having her appear and deliver the killing blow in creative and unique ways. These encounters provide some fine gore effects for the stellar kills, ranging from various ax wounds, stabbings, sliced with the blade of a skate, among others, as well as showing off the creepy mask. There’s a lot to like here.
The other aspect of the film, from the great stalking scenes here is allows the film a fun, wild finale, which features a lot of great action. After a great beginning that gives some background to the girls and what’s going on, the slow-burgeoning insanity that finally causes her to snap with great attacks in the bedroom, where she takes out the horny couple having sex in the house, leads to the other girls’ realization that she’s been drugged and can’t get out of the house. The other victim who discovers it all is given a shorter sequence where it dawns on her what’s going on as the couple who left return and discover the carnage, which leads into a series of great chases that have a fun energy to them. These elements provide enough positives to hold this one up.
There are a few issues to be had with the film. The main problem is the somewhat exaggerated running time that drags out the length of this one more than necessary. there’ s no reason for the opening slaughter of the family should last nearly fifteen minutes down solely to the tempo of the scenes based on how necessary the order of events is which leaves the pacing as the only culprit for the outcome. As well, the entire time they’re off partying at the nightclub has no reason to be there, and the entire trip to the store, where the car ride there and the shopping montage inside don’t need to be shown there which makes this one somewhat longer than it needs to be.
The other minor problem is a wholly unsatisfactory finale for a slasher film. The chase with the true final girl is quite lackluster, standing around crying weakly at her friend to help her, whimpering and helplessly waving a pathetic knife at the killer while trying to stop her from approaching her dead friend, and not even getting into a skirmish as the reliance on last-second saves from the continuously returning killer for stingers that grow weaker each time. As well, it chooses them to finally unload the killer’s identity and backstory in a throwaway section of dialogue from a random character and takes a lot of impact out of the revelation feeling like an afterthought. Otherwise, there’s not a lot to dislike with this one.
Overview: ***/5
While the slashing scenes and brutality of the gore really save the film, some of the other issues that pop up serve this one with a few minor elements that keep this down. This is highly recommended to indie-flavored slasher lovers or aficionados of seasonal genre fare, while those who look for more in their films should heed caution.
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