Walking the streets alone at night, The Girl (Ali Chappell) is looking for unsuspecting women to attack with her titular weapon of choice, driven by a force she is initially unable to comprehend. With every murder, the victims look increasingly familiar to her and her strange visions of a spectral woman in black begin to ring with an ominous inevitability.
Art installation meets neo-giallo in Chris Alexander’s micro-budgeted lockdown shocker which may not be especially remarkable in terms of its content but is an absolute marvel in terms of what can be achieved with the smallest of productions. From the end credits, I counted just five people responsible, all pulling multiple duties on this (save for the effects guy).
Alexander not only directed but wrote the screenplay, assumed the role of cinematographer, was responsible for the lighting and the sound, dressed the sets (with Chappell) and provided the bulk of the music. If nothing else, this is a lesson for filmmakers on how to get things done. If the counter argument is that wearing too many hats could compromise the overall vision of the piece, well, there’s a definite style and intent at play here.
With a focus on atmosphere over plotting and a pace designed to be deliberately languid even though the whole film, with credits, runs a touch over 58 minutes, this is going to be a movie which even stalwart fans of the genre are going to have a challenging time sticking with. Lingering shots of The Girl kitting up for a night of destruction add an intriguing layer to the fetishism and ceremony of adding to her body count but anyone who has shown up for lurid slashings may be disappointed by the general restraint shown in terms of bloodletting.
Yes, the murder sequences are effectively nasty in their own way but blood and gore are fleeting. The repetitive nature of the kills is also a considered choice and points up the mechanical nature of the task at hand but will also try the patience of those who, even in the giallo sphere, enjoy a little more variety in their set pieces.
So much of Girl With A Straight Razor appears to be actively testing its audience not to switch off that it does hold a certain fascination. Dialogue is scattered sparsely, the first words spoken after just over twenty minutes. Its arthouse leanings, for instance a pause in which The Girl prepares herself a cup of tea, will make the viewer question whether such an interlude adds to or just pads the story.
Yet it’s precisely these odd diversions and its general strangeness which kept me watching. It oscillates between oblique and obvious, the visual style switches from grainy and grimy to blush and beautiful. Many giallo touches are there such as the prowling POV shots and dream-like atmosphere but having the emphasis placed squarely on the perpetrator and providing no background whatsoever to their casualties takes the subgenre in a direction it rarely selects.
As the focus of the entire runtime, Ali Chappell puts in a thought-provoking turn as The Girl. In her slaying garb of red coat, black boots, dark glasses and, of course, black gloves, she cuts something of a dash but the story focuses just as much, if not more, on her relationship with the instrument of elimination and its effect on her psychological state. It’s a mannered performance but, without wanting to give too much away, that’s exactly what’s needed here in order to align with the oddness of the plot’s developments.
For anyone wanting a horror film to enjoy with a group of friends and a supply of beer and popcorn, Girl With A Straight Razor is far from the first film I’d be telling you to push play on. There are rough edges because of the tiny budget and there is a wilful evasiveness in its treatment of the story on its way to the final reveal which will exceed the tolerance of some. Its penchant for protracted, arty vignettes may send folks screaming from the room.
On the flip side, it’s encouraging that films such as this exist. It may not have had a particularly lasting impact on me but the fact that it takes the standard set of movie-making rules and then works out how to ignore a number of them has to make it worth a watch, even if you decide that it’s not for you after the first act – well, if you can work out what constitutes the first act.
Girl With A Straight Razor works hard to create a waking nightmare from its challenging constraints and although I’m not going to use the limited resources to excuse the occasions in which it doesn’t really work, the overall concept is a provocative one which pays off in a way which, in keeping with most of the enterprise, will delight or infuriate. Its natural home would seem to be as a video exhibit at a gallery rather than home entertainment but doesn’t it warm your heart to know that horror is the place where experimentation has a true home?
Art installation meets neo-giallo in Chris Alexander’s micro-budgeted lockdown shocker which may not be especially remarkable in terms of its content but is an absolute marvel in terms of what can be achieved with the smallest of productions. From the end credits, I counted just five people responsible, all pulling multiple duties on this (save for the effects guy).
Alexander not only directed but wrote the screenplay, assumed the role of cinematographer, was responsible for the lighting and the sound, dressed the sets (with Chappell) and provided the bulk of the music. If nothing else, this is a lesson for filmmakers on how to get things done. If the counter argument is that wearing too many hats could compromise the overall vision of the piece, well, there’s a definite style and intent at play here.
With a focus on atmosphere over plotting and a pace designed to be deliberately languid even though the whole film, with credits, runs a touch over 58 minutes, this is going to be a movie which even stalwart fans of the genre are going to have a challenging time sticking with. Lingering shots of The Girl kitting up for a night of destruction add an intriguing layer to the fetishism and ceremony of adding to her body count but anyone who has shown up for lurid slashings may be disappointed by the general restraint shown in terms of bloodletting.
Yes, the murder sequences are effectively nasty in their own way but blood and gore are fleeting. The repetitive nature of the kills is also a considered choice and points up the mechanical nature of the task at hand but will also try the patience of those who, even in the giallo sphere, enjoy a little more variety in their set pieces.
So much of Girl With A Straight Razor appears to be actively testing its audience not to switch off that it does hold a certain fascination. Dialogue is scattered sparsely, the first words spoken after just over twenty minutes. Its arthouse leanings, for instance a pause in which The Girl prepares herself a cup of tea, will make the viewer question whether such an interlude adds to or just pads the story.
Yet it’s precisely these odd diversions and its general strangeness which kept me watching. It oscillates between oblique and obvious, the visual style switches from grainy and grimy to blush and beautiful. Many giallo touches are there such as the prowling POV shots and dream-like atmosphere but having the emphasis placed squarely on the perpetrator and providing no background whatsoever to their casualties takes the subgenre in a direction it rarely selects.
As the focus of the entire runtime, Ali Chappell puts in a thought-provoking turn as The Girl. In her slaying garb of red coat, black boots, dark glasses and, of course, black gloves, she cuts something of a dash but the story focuses just as much, if not more, on her relationship with the instrument of elimination and its effect on her psychological state. It’s a mannered performance but, without wanting to give too much away, that’s exactly what’s needed here in order to align with the oddness of the plot’s developments.
For anyone wanting a horror film to enjoy with a group of friends and a supply of beer and popcorn, Girl With A Straight Razor is far from the first film I’d be telling you to push play on. There are rough edges because of the tiny budget and there is a wilful evasiveness in its treatment of the story on its way to the final reveal which will exceed the tolerance of some. Its penchant for protracted, arty vignettes may send folks screaming from the room.
On the flip side, it’s encouraging that films such as this exist. It may not have had a particularly lasting impact on me but the fact that it takes the standard set of movie-making rules and then works out how to ignore a number of them has to make it worth a watch, even if you decide that it’s not for you after the first act – well, if you can work out what constitutes the first act.
Girl With A Straight Razor works hard to create a waking nightmare from its challenging constraints and although I’m not going to use the limited resources to excuse the occasions in which it doesn’t really work, the overall concept is a provocative one which pays off in a way which, in keeping with most of the enterprise, will delight or infuriate. Its natural home would seem to be as a video exhibit at a gallery rather than home entertainment but doesn’t it warm your heart to know that horror is the place where experimentation has a true home?