Piggy Banks

If there was ever a monument to the 11th Commandment of DVD selection (Thou Shalt Not Base Thy Expectations For The Movie on Its Packaging), "Born Killers" is it. Even the title seems designed to make you think you're getting some forgettable little blood-soaked b-movie schlockfest. (A little digging revealed the movie's real title when first released in foreign markets was "Piggy Banks," but the name was changed for the U.S. release because . . . Well, I'm not sure why, actually. You have to think a big successful distributor like Lions Gate knows what it's doing.) Anyhoo. I rented it on the recommendation of a friend whose taste in indie cinema I trust, and it turned out to be quite the dark little treat. Yes, the first thirty or forty minutes or so are--as advertised--a peek at the life of the roving North American serial murderer in his natural element. But instead of gore these scenes are punctuated with some entertaining dialogue, revelatory narration, and intriguing characters possessed of (admittedly) vulgar and brutal sensibilities . . . but somehow coupled with subtle hints of the real complexity beneath the crimson surface. And then as the movie reaches the half-way mark it spins off into a wholly new direction, at which point you realize (again) that though you thought you had a pretty good handle on just what kind of film you were watching you in fact didn't have a clue. Stick around, if for no other reason than to see the luminous Lauren German (Gertie) enter the story and surprise even the most jaded soul . . .