Indie horror "Anna: Scream Queen Killer" is another in a series of indie films featuring Melanie Denholme in very stylized experimental theatre. Playing on a voyeuristic fetish theme, "Anna: SQK" follows the title character through an avant-garde journey into the world of indie grindhouse film auditions, but with a twist. A young actress desperate to make it in the movies, is invited to a series of filmed auditions, playing out various scenarios on camera. The problem is, the director is a pervert with only one thing on his mind. As the actress progresses through a bizarre series of roles she slowly realizes all the man wants is sexual satisfaction. Forced to strip, and do carnal things in the name of the art, she eventually flips and takes matters into her own hands. "Anna: SQK" is directed by Denholme along side The Aquinas.
For me personally, "Anna: Scream Queen Killer" is far more art-house than a film that claims to have a plot can handle. I have seen enough of Denholme's work to realize that this is her niche area of genre filmmaking, often the film's prove very expressionistic and evoking, however with this film it just didn't work for me. The voyeurism is a cool notion and aims at a particular fetishized market in indie horror. The thing that makes "Anna: SQK" fall flat is the complete drowning of plot and character building which gets lost in a psychotic flux of surrealistic and almost randomized series of theatrics from the view of the voyeur. Often less is more, except when it comes to plot, story continuity. There should have been more detail and consideration in conveying the story and actual fluid dialog that brings the viewer along on this journey.
"Anna: Scream Queen Killer" isn't really a film that I would suggest to a horror fan who wants to see a movie, it is more a film that I would suggest for fetish fans of erotica artfilms, or fans of Melanie Denhome. That is really a stretch to say considering there are other works featuring Denhome that offer the same atmosphere and themes, but with much more entertainment value. I just didn't get whatever it was "Anna: SQK" was shooting for, nor did I connect with the film desired intent. I don't think this film was executed properly and feel that maybe the creativity overcame the the directors which resulted in total chaos and confusion. This was a really bad movie and not the kind that is so bad it is good-it is just bad!
