Screwdriver

Director - Chuck Conry (Morbid, Door 1 of the 5 Doors to Hell)
Starring - Ethan Bouldin (Chickens Blood, Morbid), Ryan Grooms (Door 1 of the 5 Doors to Hell), and Chuck Conry
Release Date - 2020
Genre - Horror/Comedy
Tagline - "11 - 1 ways to die"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     It seems like this time last year I was seeing so many indie slashers pop up which was a welcomed change to the influx of post Walking Dead clones that flooded the horror scene for years now.  However, it looks like the slasher fad has once again faded with less and less news of new slashers hitting the horror community.  Sometime ago horror critic and filmmaker Chuck Conry announced a new film.  I'm a fan of his slasher Morbid and his horror anthology Door 1 of the 5 Doors to Hell so I couldn't wait to see what he had in store for us.  It looks like his newest venture just happens to be a slasher comedy simply titled Screwdriver.  I followed this one closely and when he had copies available he was kind enough to send me one.  Thanks Chuck!

     The film follows a rural Tennessee handyman who is struggling with work once a local hardware store opens giving locals an opportunity to do home repairs on their own.  He decides to go on a killing spree the night some of the locals decide to get together and party.  One by one he starts picking off the party goers using items found in his toolbox until just one stands in his way.  

     Screwdriver doesn't try to change the slasher sub-genre or deliver the slasher film of the ages.  It's goal is simple.  Conry and company want to deliver some bloodshed and laughs which I feel they succeed with this one.  It reminded me a lot of the slashers I was watching in high school and college during the early 2000s from Pendulum Pictures and Brain Damage.  The acting in this one is consistent of Conry's other films.  The cast is fully dedicated to their roles but inexperience does rear it's ugly head.  The film's slasher, Ryan Grooms, approached the role in a comical way but his Sling Blade impersonation does wear thin after 15 or so minutes.  It was funny as the film began but quickly ran it's course.  Ethan Bouldin has a great camera presence but his volume needs dialed down a lot.  His scenes sometimes felt like a wrestling promo rather than a slasher.  The supporting cast is solid as well but the same can be said about them as well.  Inexperience but very dedicated.  The story for this one is, at it's core, a traditional slasher.  Slashers from the late 70s and early 80s were known for a masked killer murdering those that wronged them.  Screwdriver scraps the mask but keeps the remainder in tacked with a comical twist.  It flows very well and works for what it is but it would have been so much more entertaining if the dialogue was written for the cast.  It's painfully evident that the cast was allowed to improve their lines.  Finally, the film has several kills fitting the handyman theme.  The kills use classic slasher tricks with plenty of blood and minimal effects.  It works and takes the viewer back to slashers of the late 70s with camera tricks and gags.  Overall, Screwdriver is not the next big name in slashers but it never set out to be.  Instead, it's a slasher you can toss in with a few friends and some beer.  It has some blood, a few chuckles, and plenty variations of the word "fuck."  I highly suggest giving this no budget flick a chance.