Rey Ciso (Adam Brooks) was once a top film editor. Then a nasty accident resulted in the loss of some fingers, and he ends up cutting trashy horror pictures. Murders begin to plague the production of his current film, and the inspector on the case (Matthew Kennedy) is sure he's responsible.
There's a fair amount of suspects in this very knowing, dead-on parody of the Italian murder mysteries known as Gialli. The Canadian filmmaking collective Astron-6 (including Brooks, Kennedy, and co-star Conor Sweeney, who plays untalented actor Cal Konitz) obviously took a fair amount of care with this one, and had a bigger budget than usual. They also shot it in 2.35:1 to keep it stylishly connected to Gialli of the past. The story has its share of twists (among them, the ending), and it keeps viewers amused and interested. The gore is delightfully way over the top, and nicely realized. The film is not always terribly funny, but when it hits, it hits HARD. Among the brightest gags are references to both Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci; Fulci's body of work in particular gets a frequent shout-out. The music is great - among the composers credited is Claudio Simonetti, so it's no surprise that the score is Goblin-esque at times.
The acting is much like what one would see in a vintage Giallo. Brooks actually does a passable Italian accent, and is a likeable hero. Kennedy is fun as the bumbling inspector. Paz de la Huerta ("Nurse 3-D") vamps it up something fierce as Rey's wife, a faded former film star. Laurence R. Harvey ("Human Centipede" 2 and 3) is a flustered priest, Tristan Risk ("American Mary") the sexy Veronica, but German legend Udo Kier is rather wasted as the briefly seen head of an asylum. Still, it's always nice to see him in anything.
Overall, a good, respectable effort, worth a look for any fan of the Gialli genre.
Seven out of 10.
