Starring - Alexandra Cruz (Creekers, American Hostage), Melissa Eichorn, Nelli Kowalik (Deadly Sins, Sprawl)
Release Date - 2007
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "The first movie from the "Mad Genius" Johann Tetreault"
Format - Bluray (Personal Collection)
Rating (out of 5):
I review a lot of movies and the majority of them are indie productions. Those films may have slowed down with the onset of the pandemic but before last year I was spending a lot of my spare time watching and reviewing no budget films that was sent over by eager filmmakers wanting me to check out their hard work. I know it takes a lot to make a film and it's even more difficult to make a feature length film when you have no budget at all to work with. That's why I try to never completely bash a film but find something redeeming in each and every movie I review. Sadly, sometimes I get something in that just doesn't do anything for me and almost every aspect is difficult to find something positive to say about it. A few weeks ago Chris Woods shared that he would be releasing the Homicidal Maniac double feature on blu through his The Sleaze Box label. I was curious about this release so I went ahead and snagged a copy. After watching The Sleaze Box/ GatorBlade Films co-production Blood, Guts, and Sunshine I decided to keep it sleazy and go with another Sleaze Box release. Homicidal Maniac was that film... o boy, what a movie.
The film follows a man that works at a seafood restaurant while doing odd jobs on the side for his boss who is constantly getting caught up in illegal activity and fraud. One day he is pushed too far when his boss' wife tries to fuck him. When he turns down her advancements she gets mad and tells him that her husband is at his house fucking his wife. He fucks her, then kidnaps her before going home to abduct his wife as well. He takes them to a secluded area where he rapes, tortures, and kills them.
I went into this one with an open mind and a great curiosity but what I found was a movie that felt like each scene was shot in one take with no rehearsal and little direction from Tetreault. The movie was a little over an hour but it felt like it was a lot longer. The acting in this one is forced, awkward, and very inexperienced. The characters are cliched and the cast is all over the place with their performances. I don't know if there was actual dialogue written or improved but we get a lot of "uh, uhms, and like" scattered throughout the scene which makes me think that they either forgot their lines or couldn't think of something to say. This was funny at first but as the film progressed it made the scenes difficult to follow. The story for this one is 40 or so minutes of dialogue heavy scenes and filtered sex scenes before we move into the horror element. Even though these scenes were the final portion of the film it was still dragged out longer than it needed to be. The film does very little to hold the viewer's attention and the story is all over the place. It's almost as if they didn't have an actual story written and just started filming with a general outline. Finally, the film has some blood and nudity but neither are eye catching or memorable. We get some blood splatter here and there and random nudity but if you are looking for memorable kills and great gore you will be very disappointed. Overall, Homicidal Maniac is one of the toughest films to finish that I have ever reviewed. Almost every aspect of the film was a struggle to finish and I can't recommend this one to anyone. Skip it.
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