THE KILLING DEATH * Canada 2008 Dir: Ian Russell. 63 mins
I mean. What can be said about THE KILLING DEATH — an ultra-low-budget horror movie inspired by Mel Brooks particular brand of humour, featuring bizzaro gross-out gags and a dead-eyed murderer just trying to make the perfect pizza.
Rookie cop Jimmy (Geoff Trubiak) and his seasoned partner Frank (Jeremy Dangerfield) are trying to solve a series of murders where a piece (or chunk, or organ) of every victim is being taken by the killer. Phil (Neil Reamer) is an unassuming pizza delivery guy who’s been inspired by an ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic that depicts a ritual of consuming human flesh to gain super-human intelligence. And honestly, disregarding the low budget, bad acting, impersonal camera work, and fart jokes—some of this movie works. There are a few one liners that are genuinely funny, and the overworked plot is at least original and amusing.
The “so bad it’s bad” of this movie is obviously intentional, and the director leans into it hard. But as the minutes tick by in this already incredibly short feature, the jokes stop working and you’re left checking your watch.
Review by Julia Lynch
