SEXY KILLER

(A.k.a. SEXYKILLER, MORIRAS POR ELLA; BARBYKILLER)

Opening like yet another entry in the SCARY MOVIE series, SEXY KILLER begins with a group of beautiful but bitchy female college students getting dressed in the locker rooms. As the place empties, a hooded figure in a "Scream" mask enters and stalks the locker room corridors with dagger in hand.

However, this would-be assailant is a bungling idiot who is soon revealed to be afraid of their own reflection. The masked marauder is in fact horny student Santiago (David Tenreiro), who's simply angling for a closer look at pretty brunette Barbara (Macarena Gomez) in a state of undress. Unfortunately, he learns the hard way that Barbara is in fact a genuine killer ...

We soon learn that Barbara is a cool cat who doesn't let the jealous bitchiness of her fellow girl students detract from her penchant for horror films, serial killing and fashion accessorizing. Oh, and her love of taking her pet dog for walks on an evening.

One evening, Barbara's pooch is run over by a hapless young motorist who, as a consequence, must listen to Barbara's story before she murders him.

This affords us the opportunity to look in on Barbara's flashback account of events, beginning with highly stylised black-and-white footage of her as a kid, under the thumb of her domineering mother. From there, we briefly visit Barbara's teenage years by way of a colourful Willy Wonka-style musical number - and then we're into more recent territory, as Barbara tells of her killing spree on the college campus.

It's here that we meet, via flashback, students Alex (Alejo Sauras) and Tomas (Cesar Camino). Alex is a regular party animal while the more studious Tomas has other things on his mind - such as his pal Santiago, who's been missing for a week.

Alex and Tomas are working together on a college project to create a machine that cures migraines. However, geeky Tomas goes several steps further and invents a "brain impulse decoder": a contraption capable of conveying thoughts into video images.

When murders on the campus continue, including the killings of the sleazy Assistant Head and his slutty student girlfriend Clara, TV crews and the police begin to swarm the college. All of which amuses Barbara to no end - until she discovers that Tomas is offering to use his new invention on murder victims in a bid to help the cops catch the killer.

This may sound like a major plot spoiler, but there is so much more to come - especially when the brain impulse machine has a deliciously unexpected effect on Barbara's victims and the film gets even crazier than it's first half (no mean feat).

SEXY KILLER is daft, frantic and filled with noisy ideas. Its garish and slick in a soap opera manner, which helps it rise above some of its sillier moments (a slapstick sex scene; the opening SCARY MOVIE homage; frequent use of Aqua's tune "Barbie Girl").

First and foremost, SEXY KILLER is a comedy. A European one at that, so don't expect too much sophistication. It's a fast-paced romp through vignettes and varying filmic styles such as pop videos, impromptu TV commercials and 60s-style chase sequences. Director Miguel Marti is not so much confused, as in a rush to cover as much ground as possible. The effect is giddying and, to be honest, a little too busy. The film often feels too hectic.

Still, it's fun, and is frequently gory with some great imaginative death scenes. The hybrid of serial killer flick with zombie film is an inspired excuse for a great deal of crimson FX work, and Marti doesn't skimp on the red stuff; FX supremo Juan Ramon Molina is kept very busy indeed.

Gomez isn't exactly warm in her role, and the script is too snappy - too keen to throw in one-liners at every opportunity - to connect on an emotional level. But it hardly matters, as SEXY KILLER works on pure energy and colourful compositions of startling frequency. Indeed, the gaudy costumes and set decor often resemble Pedro Almodovar at his brightest.

Elsewhere, SEXY KILLER has SERIAL MOM's tone for the most part, while managing to throw in nods to the likes of MACABRE, SCREAM, TAXI DRIVER, Russ Meyer, RE-ANIMATOR and early Alex De La Iglesia. It's hard not to like it.

SEXY KILLER is presented uncut in anamorphic 2.35:1. The picture presentation is a strong one, boasting sharp detail and profound colours.

Audio is provided in the original Spanish 2.0 track, and it's a good clear mix of evenly balanced channel playback. Optional English subtitles are sometimes difficult to read over the bright visuals, but largely free from glaring errors.

A static main menu page leads into a static scene-selection menu which, over the course of three pages, allows access to the main feature via 12 chapters.

The disc is defaulted to open with trailers for James Corden starrer TELSTAR, the grisly-looking NECROMENTIA and an insanely visceral pitch for AUTOMATION TRANSFUSION. Unfortunately these are the only "extras" on the disc.

SEXY KILLER is a fun, extremely quirky and ultimately throwaway film that is instantly forgettable on a dramatic level (even though it throws in a dash of romance), but delivers action and gore in spades - along with occasional giggles.

The constant sojourns into non-plot vignettes (musical numbers, asides to camera etc) may alienate some, but for others this is spirited daft mayhem with style to spare.

Review by Stu Willis