By Melissa Antoinette Garza
As a lover of 60’s and 70s horror I wasn’t sure if I’d like this homage or not. As of late, parodies seem to be mean-spirited about the work they are poking fun of. Rather than celebrating camp for the outrageousness it was fully aware of being, the tone is often one of, “look how stupid everyone was back then.” I feared this would be of that ilk and stayed away until someone I have shared interests with mentioned enjoying it.
I’m glad I ventured to Prime to check it out. I needed a fem goddess mindset and this flick is directed, produced and written by one. Anna Biller creates a celebration of feminine beauty and a recognition of the powers and prowess that live within the female form. There are a few moments that gave me pause, but most just brought me pleasure.
Leading the cast is Samantha Robinson. She portrays Elaine, a witch who is looking for love. She uses potions and spells to bring forth many lovers. When things don’t work out, the body count begins to rise.
Samantha first goes straight to her friend and fellow witch, Barbara’s (Jennifer Ingrum) apartment. It’s temporarily vacant and she’s been given the go ahead to stay there. Trish (Laura Waddell) welcomes her to the place and shows her around. The two women go out for tea and Trish is a bit taken aback by Elaine’s philosophy on men and love.
Elaine is openly addicted to love and believes the way to a man is thru sex. She believes when in love to give it over as often as the guy wants it regardless if it’s your kick or not. Trish, who is married tries to add a different perspective. She says if she were to put out every time the mood struck her husband Richard (Robert Seeley) that she’d be a wreck. She goes on to explain that Elaine’s mindset is one influenced by the patriarchy. All Elaine takes away from this is poor Richard isn’t getting laid enough.
I love Elaine. She’s purposefully misunderstood by every character. Both the male characters and Trish don’t get it. Elaine isn’t controlled. She’s the controller. She’s the dominatrix. She’s playing a role that she enjoys playing and if her partner doesn’t fulfill her kicks, there are deadly consequences.
I believe Biller wants us to have a bit of disdain for Elaine as some of the dialogue is intentionally sexist. For example, after bedding Wayne (Jeffrey Vincent Parise), she talks about how he’s a “pussy” and acting “like a girl.” I get it. The sexist ideals that society perpetuates manifested in an extreme way that controls Elaine’s behavior or, and hear me out, everyone has kicks. That’s it. It’s kicks.
Wayne, who is the first victim that we have a real introduction to, is an idiot. He is led around by his dick and has unrealistic ideas about what a woman is or should be. He trashes the other women he was with previously for wanting to jump into a monogamous relationship though on day one he wants to lock Elaine down. He is blind to Elaine’s games and ignores every red flag so that he could get his dick wet. He’s a pretentious douche who blabbers like a dummy when a pretty girl smiles at him. He’s the ex-husband of every girlfriend you said “don’t marry that guy” to.
Elaine is admittedly a murderer. She’s crazy. She’s a minx who jumps Richard’s bones and puts him under her spell the moment that Trish goes out of town. Maybe if Trish wasn’t so judgemental, Elaine would have respected boundaries a bit more. Not to mention, Richard broke his vows. He’s the dick.
We learn that Elaine’s father and husband were both abusive assholes. Pretty much most men in this are assholes. They’re sexist, derogatory and just talk a lot of shit. It’s this sort of negative reinforcement that created the Elaine we see today.
Wayne’s body is soon found by Officer Griff (Gian Keys) who becomes Elaine’s truest love thus far. The two embark on a relationship which is tested when Griff finds out the truth. His decisions on her freedom are the catalyst to the conclusion.
Overall, this movie is a good one. I love the fem cast. I love the look, the colors and the fun.
The only thing I disliked was a tone of superiority that I felt the film was trying to convey. There were moments that Elaine was made to be stupid for no reason. For example she says she has two words to say but says “Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.” Come on. Give her some credit. I know it was done for laughs, but it’s just an insult to women and I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bug me more because it was written and directed by a woman.
That’s me nitpicking. I OBVIOUSLY don’t think Biller hates women (evident by me referring her to a fem goddess). I think she hates men who make women feel as though they have to do anything. She hates the manipulation and bullshit. Most women and many men agree with that sentiment.
Still, I love to play and once in awhile I get the feeling that this movie hates women who play. I’m among the mindset that a woman can be a dominatrix on Monday and a sex kitten on Tuesday. You don’t have to be. You can be a librarian nun 365. Everyone has kicks! None are evil. None are wrong. The issue arises when a man tries to dictate the way in which a woman dresses or acts or behaves. My thoughts are that most likely Biller agrees with me on this, but the message gets a bit muddled within the context of the film.
One scene in particular was the burlesque scene where a woman is shown doing a routine as a male character talks about how empowering it is. It’s clear that the man is a manipulative douche so the indication would be that what he is saying about women and their sexuality is wrong – but most of it isn’t. Maybe it shouldn’t be coming from him and maybe he’s using the premise of sexualized feminism to fulfill his own desires, but that doesn’t take away from the merit of the words spoken. Women can be naked. They can be free. They can have sex. They can fantasy role-play and they can still be worthy of love and be badass feminists.
Even with those issues, I loved this flick. I don’t think it was trying to be mean-spirited. It’s very funny, it’s dark, twisted and has the 60s flare that I love.
Watch it. Enjoy it for what it is. Just try to ignore any anti-fem annoyances. There’s only a few of them, but they still sting.
Scared Stiff Rating: 7/10
