Rags

Director - Krist Rufty (Psycho Holocaust, Cutting Room)
Starring - Vanelle (Dark Awakening, It's Supernatural), Billy Garberina (Necroville, Geek War), Samantha Novak (I Heart U, Wicked Wood)
Release Date - 2011
Genre - Horror/Fantasy/Comedy
Tagline - "It will tear you to pieces"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     This year I have watched some very unique films ranging from sexploitation to horror.  The few years I have been reviewing indie horror films I find myself watching no budget slashers and Walking Dead rip-off zombie flicks.  Very few horror films have imagination.  Most of the one's that I review are always very simple stories that almost always have a story that I have seen in at least a dozen movies.  Not long ago Wild Eye sent me some more films to check out.  Among the stack of movies was the 2011 horror fantasy film Rags from director Krist Rufty.  The film had my attention but when I saw Billy Garberina was involved I was hooked.  Thanks Wild Eye for sending another one my way.
     The film follows a female junkie who lives with her pimp and another whore.  He pimps them out to as many Johns as he can and, in return, allows them to get fucked up on his stash.  She was once married and expecting but left her husband to come back to her pimp and drugs.  She lost her child during birth and now her ex-husband is trying to find her.  He hires a private investigator to find her which he does.  He pounds her out and then tells the husband where she can be found.  He warns him about how dangerous the pimp is but the husband refuses to listen.
     Rags is a bit of a confusing film.  The film's artwork, above, paints a pretty gruesome picture but the film was anything but.  The movie actually surprised me and Garberina had me in stitches.  The acting in this one is very one sided.   The film has some amateur performances that show talent but lack experience and then you have the intense performance from Billy Garberina who steals every scene he is in.  It was not fair to the remainder of the cast that they had to share the camera with Garberina.  The story for this one is a great fantasy horror film that I believe borrows heavily from Alice Through the Looking Glass.  It was great, had tons of twist and turns, and then went bleak delivering some horror that was very unexpected.  The film did drag on a bit at times and needed edited a little better to make the story tighter but it still delivered when it counted.  Finally, the film does have a few on screen kills hat are not that impressive or entertaining.  However, the film delivers the gore in other ways that I will not mention to prevent from spoiling.  The effects for these are minimal but they rely heavily on camera work and editing to pull the gag off.  Overall, Rags is one impressive piece of indie cinema.  The film has one of the most memorable characters I have seen in recent years and one highly entertaining story that goes against the current infatuation with slashers and zombies.  Check out this highly original film whenever you get a chance.