KILLER KILLER

Directed by Pat Higgins

Killer Killer is the second feature from Pat Higgins of Jinx Media. Released on DVD in the USA in 2007, it has since been released in territories across the globe. The film tells the story of a group of incarcerated mental patients who awake one morning to find that their cell doors wide open. There is no-one around them except for a peculiar mist that surrounds the institution. They then have to figure out how they can escape. However, whilst trying to do this, something begins killing them off one by one....

The opening sequence begins just like any other slasher film, as the masked psychokiller is stalking a busty blonde babysitter in a house. When she decides to take a shower and undress, the psycho creeps into the bathroom, shiny knife raised and ready to kill. However, when she turns around, she is holding two huge butcher knives and then repeatedly stabs the psycho to death. Throughout this sequence it becomes clear that the film is ridiculing the slasher genre and then turns it on its head. This part of the film instantly hooks you in and grabs your attention from start to finish, purely because you realise, whilst watching it, that you are watching something that is genuinely fresh and original.

After firstly seeing Hell Bride, The Devils Music, Trash House and now Killer Killer, I came to the conclusion that I had discovered a collection of unique films with regard to the way in which they played with the horror film genre's codes and conventions. During an interview, I asked Higgins if Jinx Media's primary aim was to take the genre into a completely different, leftfield direction. His answer was 'absolutely', especially since he is a huge fan of the genre. However, what followed was most interesting, as he explained that (coming from a film maker's perspective) he couldn't see the point of making the same dull, formulaic film over and over again when the genre is so flexible. When he described his body of work to me, it became clearer just how original his films were. He classified Trash House as being his crazy, exploitation style midnight movie, Killer Killer as a dark thriller with a pinch of satire, Hell Bride a romantic comedy, The Devils Music a rock documentary - yet all four of them fit snugly into the horror genre. His aim is to make all of his films entertaining for anyone who wants to watch them. He doesn't have a specific type of audience in mind, as he wants the films to find their own audience.

Killer Killer is indeed a dark, serious film, possibly the darkest of the films he's made so far. All of the performances are brilliant as they help to give the characters a lot of depth, as sometimes they are sensitive, ruthless and then amusing. The dialogue is well written and focused. To a degree, Higgins reminds me a little of Tarantino, with regard to his focus on characters, witty & interesting dialogue and always managing to elicit engaging and realistic performances from his cast. The location (a disused Victorian asylum) is fantastic. There are moments when you can feel how cold and intensive it is.

A lot of people may not like these types of films because they are pure, micro budget indie flicks. Killer Killer for instance looks like it has obviously been made on a micro-budget. Yet for what it is, it's very professionally made. Of course this doesn't stop the story and characters from being engrossing. Neither does it prevent the body of work by Jinx Media from still being unique with regard to the way in which it plays, and breathes new life into, the horror genre - all of these films deserve to be seen by as wide an audience as possible.

Review by Rebekah Smith