I'm giving this film a three, since I have seen "A Night to Dismember" and know how bad a film can really get. This one at least has custom score and actors who talk when their mouths move. Beyond that, this is all kinds of godawful. Apparently realizing that the first 45 minutes of the film are unbelievably boring, someone decided to try to compensate for it with excessive female nudity in the latter 45 minutes. In fact, I've heard that this film was partially funded by the State of New Mexico, and that they were very upset to see the final product because they considered it to be a porno.
The story is like a string of poorly executed stereotypes. An innocent young girl is tricked into becoming a stripper, and forced to remain in the job via methods that are obviously illegal -- no particular reason is given for why she doesn't go to the police. Meanwhile, lots of strippers and prostitutes have been mysteriously disappearing. Surprise, she ends up being taken by the same killer, who seems to like to hunt naked women out in the brush by Rio Rancho. We get to watch her variously run and stand idly around in the nude, until they presumably couldn't convince the actress to tolerate anymore of this so SHE DIGS FOR A SHIRT. Yessiree, it's common knowledge that if you just dig enough random holes you'll eventually turn up an entire wardrobe! She then gets to run around in a shirt that's been slit up the sides so that you still frequently catch views of her crotch and buttocks. Meanwhile, a police officer in town seems to have a lead as to the killer's identity, but he is discouraged from pursuing it because it would be scandalous to damage the reputation of a guy who manages a café, or something. Yes, it sounds just as stupid on the screen.
While I don't think this could reasonably have ever been a great film, I could even see how to improve the story as I watched it. For example, were this Diana character a prostitute from the start, it would not only explain why she doesn't complain to the police about her obviously illegal treatment at the strip club, but also would make her transformation at the end at lot more profound. (I won't give a spoiler -- if you're like me you'll have guessed the ending 10 minutes prior based on the question "How would a third rate Lifetime Original Movie end?") In fact, I have a suspicion this was originally written to be something in the style of a made for TV LMN film, but when it was decided to produce the film independently it was decided to capitalize on all potential for nude scenes, in order to appeal to a broader audience (id est, one that does not consist exclusively of alcoholic housewives.) The film also claims at the start to have been based on a true story. No one has yet been able to identify which story that is, indicating the film either was going the Blair Witch route in trying to lend itself credibility, or else was conceived after hearing something about some man who tried to kill some naked girl somewhere.
Congrats to my friend Matt Sanford, though! Your two-minutes of screen time were the most enjoyable part of the movie.
The story is like a string of poorly executed stereotypes. An innocent young girl is tricked into becoming a stripper, and forced to remain in the job via methods that are obviously illegal -- no particular reason is given for why she doesn't go to the police. Meanwhile, lots of strippers and prostitutes have been mysteriously disappearing. Surprise, she ends up being taken by the same killer, who seems to like to hunt naked women out in the brush by Rio Rancho. We get to watch her variously run and stand idly around in the nude, until they presumably couldn't convince the actress to tolerate anymore of this so SHE DIGS FOR A SHIRT. Yessiree, it's common knowledge that if you just dig enough random holes you'll eventually turn up an entire wardrobe! She then gets to run around in a shirt that's been slit up the sides so that you still frequently catch views of her crotch and buttocks. Meanwhile, a police officer in town seems to have a lead as to the killer's identity, but he is discouraged from pursuing it because it would be scandalous to damage the reputation of a guy who manages a café, or something. Yes, it sounds just as stupid on the screen.
While I don't think this could reasonably have ever been a great film, I could even see how to improve the story as I watched it. For example, were this Diana character a prostitute from the start, it would not only explain why she doesn't complain to the police about her obviously illegal treatment at the strip club, but also would make her transformation at the end at lot more profound. (I won't give a spoiler -- if you're like me you'll have guessed the ending 10 minutes prior based on the question "How would a third rate Lifetime Original Movie end?") In fact, I have a suspicion this was originally written to be something in the style of a made for TV LMN film, but when it was decided to produce the film independently it was decided to capitalize on all potential for nude scenes, in order to appeal to a broader audience (id est, one that does not consist exclusively of alcoholic housewives.) The film also claims at the start to have been based on a true story. No one has yet been able to identify which story that is, indicating the film either was going the Blair Witch route in trying to lend itself credibility, or else was conceived after hearing something about some man who tried to kill some naked girl somewhere.
Congrats to my friend Matt Sanford, though! Your two-minutes of screen time were the most enjoyable part of the movie.