KILLER KILLER

Directed by Pat Higgins
Written by Pat Higgins
Cinematography by Alan Ronald
Music by Phil Sheldon
Cast: Dutch Dore-Boize, Cy Henty, Danielle Laws, James Kavaz, Danny James, Richard Collins, Scott Denyer

2007/76mins/Color/Stereo Sound
1.33:1/English/United Kingdom/NTSC Region 1

Review from Jinx Media Ltd. Screener

Seven convicted killers, locked away in a ward reserved exclusively for murderers, awaken one morning to find their cell doors open, the guards missing, and the compound surrounded by an impenetrable wall of mist. At first the convicts merely wonder out loud where all the guards have gone, why the compound seems to have to fallen into disarray overnight, and what to do with the unbalanced psychopath that is kept in the basement cellblock. But when the men begin to drop dead one by one, they blame each other, unaware that there is an entity in the shadows, a killer of killers, picking off the inmates in the exact same way that they committed their murders.

After starting off the film like a thousand other slashers before, KILLER KILLER gets underway to the main setting, that being the claustrophobic halls of the prison, from which the characters are unable to get away. Here the killers, made all the more charismatic by their British accents, discuss what is happening and we get a glimpse into what brought each of these men to be convicted serial killers. Director and writer Pat Higgins keeps the atmosphere and tempo light in these opening sequences, before shifting gears into the horror aspect of the film.

The kill scenes, which can happen at any time and are unavoidable by the victim-to-be, are very tonally very close to A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET. Each victim is lured into a feeling of control and safety, as they do not question how they've mysteriously appeared in their favorite setting with a victim nearby, and get ready to "go to work". But it here that the tables are turned, as the always blonde buxom victim turns out to be a silent but very efficient demon who dispatches each in a grisly way. The gore is quick and somewhat lacking in a film with such a high body, leaving to one to wonder how much of the budget was set aside for blood n' guts. But at least the color is dead on, and the kills are rapid enough to overlook the overall lack of splatter.

Obviously shot on video with a threadbare budget, Pat Higgins and company overcome their short comings with a dedication to the project. Higgins eschews any suspense build-up, despite the music's desperate attempt to, in exchange for some great dialogue interactions, machine-gun quick kill after kill, and more than a few nods to the video nasties of yesteryear. Once the pattern has been established early on, it is quite easy to predict what will happen minutes before they do. The origin of the killer-killer is a bit hard to swallow, but at least Higgins is trying to come up with an original idea, and for that he can be given some wiggle room.

The DVD from Jinx Media features the original full-screen ratio, with an above-quality transfer given the movie's apparent video origins. The soundtrack is limited, again given the equipment most likely used to record, and some of the higher volume shouting gets a bit distorted. But it is mixed quite well, with the dialogue always focused, and the music soundtrack softly oozing up from the background when called up for a bit of atmosphere. And don't let the rather burly photo angle of the cover featuring Danielle Laws worry you. She's quite the sight in the actual film, and proudly displays her impressive chest for the film's prerequisite nudity.

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Review by Ryan Midnight. All Right Reserved. 2007. ©