DIRECTED BY: Craig McIntyre
FEATURING: Randy Tobin, Celeste Martinez, Devanny Pinn, Ava Rose, Nekromistress, Chase Monroe, Marna K., Brandon Engstrom
PLOT: The tagline sums it up best: Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer meets Van Nuys Blvd.
Drug dealer Grahm has a side hobby of picking up women and brutally killing them. Kristy is fresh off the train from Ohio to take part in the L.A. scene. Their paths will eventually cross.
COMMENTS: Give this one points for its skeezy atmosphere and for Randy Tobin’s performance as the title killer. Looking like a low rent Jay Mohr channeling early Nic Cage, Tobin is completely believable as a modern day Jack The Ripper, prowling about the city in his van.
It aims for a sort of ‘you-are-there’ semi-documentary quality, as it alternates between Grahm’s killings and Kristy’s arrival and life in L.A., their meeting and his obsession over her, which ends up exactly where you think its going. The film is successful in that aspect. It grabs onto the grindhouse vibe without any obvious self-consciousness about it (although the last third of the film, where the two main characters end up in an isolated desert hideaway, may have you thinking of similar events in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre). There’s not a lot of character development, but in this case, that may not be a hindrance. Where the film comes up a bit 
short is in the technical department, with annoying camerawork and overbearing music being two strong flaws almost impossible to ignore. Most early reviewers have commented on the ‘satirical’ bits of the film—I didn’t notice anything ‘satirical’ here, unless the term has been altered to now specify awkward line readings and some idiosyncratic, but effective, editing choices.
It could be better, but it’s a pretty decent straightforward ‘Modern Grindhouse’ movie. A “limited edition” DVD release is planned soon.
Trivia: Director Craig McIntyre worked in the makeup/special effects unit on Matthew Barney’s Cremaster 3.
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DISCLAIMER: A copy of this film was provided by the production company for review.