Release Date: May 26th, 2009
Studio: Wild Eye Releasing
Genre: Horror/Comedy
UNRATED     1 hr 15 mins

CAST:

Flambeaux:  Nicholas Dread
Erica Giovinazzo:  Annie
Eve Blackwater:  Kate
“Mistress” Juliya Chernetsky: Demonatrix
Anastacia Andino:  DJ Demon
Michael Day:  Lord Walechia
Frank Dudley:  Father Connelly
Tom Velez:  Bad Bob

When it comes to horror movies, I tend lean towards the European side of the spectrum.  Whether it is Fulci or Argento, I will watch those horror films because they almost always seem to get it right when it comes to violence.  Obviously, George Romero is one of the few non-Europeans that grab my attention and keep it with such films as Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead.  Today, the horror genre as a whole suffers from one of three things (sometimes all three): lack of violence or suspense, lack of original ideas (which may in fact, explain the number of remakes that keep surfacing), or just an overall lack of attention, likely due to its straight-to-video route.

The last of the three is exactly where the subject of today’s review lies.  Gothkill is, like many of the straight-to-video releases, going to have its fair share of bad moments, especially for about the first 30-40 minutes of the movie.  The cast in the movie primarily consists of people who are involved in the New York City music and fetish scene, which would help to explain just how over the top the movie is in its rather subtle, yet clever commentary on the “Gothic culture.”

The plot of Gothkill centers on a Catholic Priest gone bad named Nicholas Dread (Flambeaux), who in a former life, had forced confessions out of two women.  When he tried to prevent the burning of the two women, he gets burned alongside them and as he is burned, he cursed the church and vowed to have his own kingdom with the two women. That leads to his pact with the devil, in which he would have his kingdom if he could kill 100,000 souls.  Fast forward to present-day New York, where Dread, in a new incarnation, is sentenced to be hanged for multiple murders.  Prior to his execution, he is visited by his Priestess, who gives him the “Last Rites.”  Afterwards, she ends up ran over by a car that is driven by a Catholic Priest (Oh, the irony).  Unaware of the fact that she was a priestess of a satanic church, the priest prays for her.  Meanwhile, an unidentified lunatic takes the book that the Priestess was carrying while Dread faces his fate.  Dread ends up in his own personal hell, only to find out that Satan took all of the souls that Dread himself had killed.  The scene turns to a couple of college girls Annie (Giovinazzo) and Kate (Blackwater), with the latter taking the former shopping at a Gothic clothing store.  While at the store, both receive an invitation to a party being held by the Scorpion Society, which happens to be the best vampire club in town.  Decked out for what appears to be a fetish party, Annie and Kate head to the club for the party, with the appearance of the members of the Scorpion Society ranging from your run-of-the-mill Hot Topic types to rejects from Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome.  The party has it all: cheesy industrial Gothic music, dominatrix complete with slaves, a tarot card reader (Vlad Marco), and a magic act.  Annie and Kate find themselves as the guests of honor by the leader Lord Walechia (Day).  While conversing, both Annie and Kate end up drugged and are taken to a room where a sacrifice is to happen.  Walechia, who looks like a poor version of a Shakespeare character, proceeds to chant from the book that the Priestess had earlier in the film.  Of course, that is bad news, as that brings Dread back from his own hell, this time, taking the guise of Annie.  Dread/Annie proceeds to rough up one of the Scorpion Society members and goes Lorena Bobbitt on the guy.  This leads to Annie and Dread switching places (figuratively), for now, and Dread telling the Scorpion Society how he came up.  From there, he begins to kill off the members of the Scorpion Society.  Before doing so, he dons a collar that Annie had worn earlier in the party and takes the guise of Annie.  Read that last sentence for a second and tell me if your head hurts.  The fun begins, as Dread/Annie proceeds to kill off the members of the Scorpion Society in sometimes spectacular fashion.

Gothkill was actually pretty boring for the first half of the film, with nothing of real note happening, aside from Dread’s comments about the proceedings on Earth.  However, once Dread takes control of Annie, the movie picks up considerably, with the death scenes being brilliant in spots, such as a guy getting a blade through the skull and the blade coming out of the mouth.  Flambeaux is a perfect fit for the Dread character, as he cuts some rather scathing, yet clever commentary about the proceedings and the “Gothic culture” as a whole.  His mannerisms are pretty much over-the-top, but how would you have acted if someone reneged on a deal that was made?  Giovinazzo does a good job of being the innocent Annie in the beginning of the film and the possessed Annie during the rampage.  If you look closely during the scenes in which Dread looks over his kingdom at the end of the film, and even during a scene in which he repeatedly punches a guy while two women hold him down, you would see Mistress Juliya.  The scenery is rather dark, which is appropriate for the subject matter of the film.  As for the bad, there are parts that seem to drag on longer than necessary.  The first half of the film doesn’t offer a great deal of action, which may cause people to hit the fast forward button.  A fight scene that occurs between Annie/Dread and DJ Demon can be best described as one of the weakest fights ever, with DJ Demon taking a rather weak neck breaker at the end.  The plot itself does have its share of holes and destroying of logic, but that’s to be expected of any B-movie.

Overall, Gothkill is a campy movie that has its moments.  Some performances are obviously better than others, and the commentary on the “Gothic culture” is scathing.  Like any B-movie, there is a fair share of violence and nudity, and there are some inconsistencies in the plot.  However, if you can manage to make it to the second half of the film, then the movie becomes a worthwhile treat.

Gothkill

August 21, 2009

Reviewer: Peter

DIRECTOR:

JJ Connelly

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