Movie Review Time: Goth Kill

Imagine that you sit down to a fancy meal. You know that it's going to be great, nay, epic, but as the first course is presented you realize that it's a hairball in broth. If you can just manage the hairball, you're going to enjoy an incredible rest of the dinner.

I'm going to get that hairball swallowed first, because once you get past it, Goth Kill is a fun flick.

Now imagine that you're a priest in the time of the Inquisition. You're a devout and sincere priest, and you're horrified to learn that some of your fellow priests have convicted some people to burn at the stake merely to confiscate their property and wealth. When you threaten to expose the corrupt priests, they quickly condemn you to burn with the rest.

So what do you do?

If you answered that as the flames consume you you make a pact with Satan that you will come back to Earth over and over until you murder 100,000 people, and that those souls will be yours to rule over eternally, then you have no gag reflex.

The rest of us, choke that hairball down and let's get on with the rest of the plot.

Set in the modern day, Goth Kill tells the story of that priest, come back yet again to collect a few last souls. This time, he's looking to harvest the members of a New York goth club called the Scorpion Society.

Besides the priest - who steals the show - the principle characters are a pair of young ladies visiting the club for the first time. These three are the only ones you end up caring about, because the Inquisition priests and the club members turn out to be real scumbags. The movie makes fun of the goth and vampire scene, dressing some of the characters up to the point of silly and mocking their behavior.

Definitely low budget, nevertheless the acting is adaquate for the most part. The direction and camera work is interesting, as is the editing. The soundtrack is fun too.

There are boobs, but not as many as you would expect. The blood is plentiful and the gore is implied.

As for the story, it's surprisingly intelligent and thought provoking. The flashbacks and twists keep things moving, and though it seems to drag at times, before you know it the movie is ending.

About the lead character. The priest is played by a fire performer named Flambeaux, and I'd like to see him in other movies. The guy has charisma and can act, and it'd be nice to see him work with a better supporting cast.

This one gets a Rocket Jones recommendation, for whatever that's worth.