|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Gore Gore Girls (1972)
Starring Frank Kress, Amy Farrell & Hedda Lubin
Directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
Written by Alan J. Dachman
|
Herschell Gordon Lewis wastes no time spilling blood and dismembering a lone stripper in this horror classic, "The Gore Gore Girls." Made in 1972, "Girls," is the story of hired private investigator Abraham Gentry as he sets out to find a killer targeting strippers throughout Chicago alongside reporter Nancy Weston who not only is attracted to Gentry's investigative methods - but Gentry as well. Gentry, however, doesn't share the same affection toward Weston, at least not at first. Instead he plays like a poor man's Inspector Clouesau not flinching at the sight of the dead, only adding goofy child-like dialogue to every scenario as they come along in the story.
Where the dialogue and acting flounders, the special effects of each murder takes on a life, or lack thereof, of their own. From melting faces, throat slices, eye removals, a scene where the butt of a victim is treated like a steak being tenderized prior to feast, the death scenes are what save this whodunit from being completely laughable. But then again, that is exactly what makes the movie so bad it's good. Lewis seemed to know exactly what he was doing with every bad performance and dialogue spit that he made it a point to let the audience know that he wasn't aiming for an Academy Award-like picture - there are even instances when the characters talk to the audience ala' Woody Allen or "Ferris Buehler's Day Off," making the movie such a horror tongue-in-cheek atmosphere that even someone watching out of spite, they too would actually like the idea of what is taking place on screen.
Using the "detective for hire," narrative for a horror film was a nice touch. Gentry weaves around always being one-step ahead of the inept police force that is also investigating the murders the same way other film detectives do. Gentry is too smart for his own good and makes sure the cops know it. He even has the cops investigating the idea that the murderer is a religious person and sends them on a wild goose chase in search of a missing Bible, only so the cops stay out of his own investigation. Gentry completely makes the religious angle up but has the police captain believe it was the captain's "amazing police work that discovered the find." Gentry later tells the police, after the investigation wraps up, that the killer was actually an Atheist, a pointless point to make but funny as hell when it's revealed.
The investigation throughout the film leads to many suspects. There is a traumatized Vietnam vet that smashes vegetables to combat his PTSD. There are the other strippers interrogated yet once they are questioned they end up mutilated. The nightclub owner himself is questioned, as well as a former female wrestler. Yet the surprise murderer wasn't as much of a surprise as when first screening the original "Scream" film. As the film heads toward the big climax, it is finally made clear who the killer is well before it is fully revealed to the audience.
Sometimes the word "classic" gets thrown around a little too often when referring to some of the older horror films. Pioneer films that broke down barriers when they first arrived on screens have been overly exploited by today's horror films so much that it is almost impossible for a horror film to be coined as being "completely original" any more. With that being said, despite the previously stated dialogue and way over-the-top over-acting, there is only way to describe this film and that is to say it is a horror film classic.
There are plenty of films that far surpass "Girls," as an overall success, and of better quality, but anyone who has made a horror film themselves would have to say that without Herschell Gordon Lewis and "The Gore Gore Girls," there wouldn't be a horror genre to be a part of. And that is why this film can be unarguably deemed a "classic."
|
vincent