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Chainsaw Sally
Directed By Jimmyo Burril
Released: 2004
Starring: April Monique Burril, Mark Redfield, Alec Joseph, and Kristen
Hudson
Running Time: 85 minutes
DVD Released By POPcinema
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By day, Sally (played by April Monique Burril) is
your typical stuffy librarian but by night, she turns into Chainsaw Sally, a
bloodthirsty serial killer with a penchant for torturing, dismembering,
and disemboweling her victims. She and her brother, Ruby (Alec Joseph),
have lived together since their father and mother were brutally murdered
by burglars many years ago. Now, when the land their home is on is
threatened by a shrewd businessman, Sally and Ruby decide to take action.
Chainsaw Sally
is the brainchild of writer/director Jimmyo Burril. The dialogue is trite
and corny but doesn’t hurt the film much. The plot isn’t anything to get
excited about but there’s a scene where Ruby and Sally force their
captives to play Twister, so who’s complaining? Most of the gore effects
are pretty effective (the force-fed acid cocktail is particularly nasty)
but the blood turns into Kool-Aid in some scenes. The digital camerawork
is good and the garish lighting works very well.
April Monique Burril makes a great librarian/serial killer. She is just so
cute in her trashy outfits and swinging that saw around. Alec Joseph is
quite disturbing as Ruby, the cross-dressing and Fudgesicle-consuming
brother and homicidal sidekick to Sally. I can’t help but wonder what
community theatre they dug up Mark Redfield, who plays Steve Kellerman,
the not-so-lucky landowner who just happens to own the property where
Sally and Ruby live. This guy is impossible to take seriously but somehow
fits in the film perfectly. Horror all-stars Herschell Gordon Lewis and
Gunnar Hansen appear in cameo roles. Even though his character is
essentially innocent, Lewis really is one creepy duder.
So what keeps this movie from being a cult classic? For one thing, there’s
an entire scene where characters are reenacting
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
and I can’t help but groan. There are entirely too many self-referential
nods going on in Indie Horror lately and
Chainsaw Sally is no exception.
Also, I wish folks would stop putting their kids in movies. Although their
scenes are brief, the young folks playing “Young Sally” and “Young Ruby”
are too embarrassing to watch.
Bad dialogue, stilted performances, painful referential moments, and
irritating child “actors” aside, I can’t help but like
Chainsaw Sally.
The film is gloriously tacky and wildly violent. Folks easily frustrated
by small budgets or completely adverse to Indie Horror should steer clear.
However, if cheap thrills (a goth chick with a chainsaw) and homemade gore
(a sloppy disembowelment) are up your alley, then give Chainsaw Sally a
spin. Just don’t expect a miracle from the milkshake stroll or the “Batman
is gay” debate (Chasing Amy
anyone?). Go, you’ve been warned.
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DVD Stuff:
Chainsaw Sally
looks great in its widescreen presentation. None of the scenes are overly
dark and the brightly colored lighting remains loud and gaudy. The audio
isn’t spectacular (a little washed out) but that is most likely from the
source material. Special features include the featurette “Saw Dust: Making
Of
Chainsaw Sally”,
a Gunnar Hansen interview, storyboard comparison, a music video,
commentary track, and many, many trailers for Shock-O-Rama films and Retro
Shock-O-Rama films.
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Links:
Get more info from
Shock-O-Rama.
Or go to the official
Chainsaw Sally site.
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Quotes:
Officer Earl: “Troubled? Nah, troubled is being a couple months late on
your truck payment. This is the kind of guy that would put on his granny’s
bra and panties and jerk off with some crunchy Jif and turkey pot pie.”
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