Director Brandon Slagle is an indie filmmaker with a long list of credits, most of which are competently made and offer something--cinematography, fascinating visuals, gutsy subjects for small budget films-to hold viewer interest. An overarching tendency is to take existing properties or narratives and put his own unique spin on them. Other efforts include takes on Charles Manson and the Amityville Horror. Here, he chooses the unlikely story of Elizabeth Short, a young woman murdered in post WWII Hollywood whose unsolved murder has become the stuff of legend, so much so that most of what is passed off as fact about the tragic femme is in fact, fiction. Slagle weaves together several ideas that no one has linked to Short, namely that her vengeful spirit possesses the living to exact her revenge and that a pre-fame Marilyn Monroe was her friend. These concepts are cobbled together with some sort of story about a young girl arriving in Hollywood to sort out the death of her father at the hands of her blind half-brother. It doesn't make a lick of sense, but it doesn't have to, as most people watching have no idea who Elizabeth Short was. This seems to be an effort by Slagle to piggyback on an existing narrative, even if that narrative wouldn't resonate with most viewers. The film seems poorly paced; some judicious editing would tighten things up considerably. Slagle also takes liberties with the main elephant in the room: Short's murderer. Despite numerous writers, detectives, and others making claims as to who the killer was, the case is still officially open. Slagle's implication that Short was somehow complicit in her own death due to some liking for S&M is sleazy and distasteful. Erratic, jumbled, and ugly. Pass, pass, pass!
