THE GORE-GORE GIRLS
*** Out of 5
Tagline- The Most Horrifying Film You’ll Ever See in Your Life
Release Date- December, 1972
Running Time- 81-Minutes
Rating- NR
Screenplay- Alan J. Dachman
Director- Herschell Gordon Lewis
Starring- Frank Kress, Amy Farrell, Hedda Lubin, Russ Badger and Henny Youngman
Before there were filmmakers like Lucio Fulci there was H.G. Lewis who made a string of low budget splatter flicks. Herschell Gordon Lewis has been dubbed the Godfather of gore and for good reason. Lewis is seen as the first splatter filmmaker and while he isn’t a mainstream filmmaker he has splattered his way into cult status.
Released in 1972 The Gore-Gore Girls would be H.G. Lewis’ final film until 30-years later when he made Blood Feast 2: All You Can Eat in 2002. The Gore-Gore Girls was a great way for Lewis to end his career. Make no mistake about it; The Gore-Gore Girls is a bad movie, but this is one of those so bad its good movies. These kinda movies are very much an acquired taste. The films of H.G. Lewis you will either love or hate and odds are nobody will really say they were ok. Again it’s either a love it or hate it.
Besides boasting one of the coolest titles in cinema history The Gore-Gore Girls is also one of the most brutal horror flicks ever made; though as the years have passed and such make up F/X artists like Tom Savini, Rick Baker and the guys at KNB have come around the gore here isn’t quite as cool as it was in 1972, but with that said it’s still pretty damn sweet. The murder scenes are really cool and at times really silly. One girl has her face repeatedly stabbed and then the flesh ripped off and that was actually kinda disgusting, but I loved every second of it and the highlight was a woman having her behind mutilated with a meat tenderizer and then having salt and pepper put on it (I kid you not).
The screenplay was written by Alan J. Dachman and it’s exactly how one would imagine it. The script is quite poor with barley any plot, annoying and stupid characters that have the most idiotic things to say, which of course is what makes it so funny. The lead character Abraham Gentry played by Frank Kress is actually fairly interesting. Normally these splatter flicks have terrible characters and The Gore-Gore Girls is no exception, but Gentry is actually fairly interesting. He’s really eccentric, kind of annoying and obnoxious, but oddly enough sort of likeable.
The screenplay almost plays out like a Giallo and had this been an Italian horror flick it probably would be called one. The mystery is never really played up to however. I suppose one can figure out who the killer is, but no real clues are given for the most part. The cops are total dopes as is pretty much everyone actually. The script is filled with silly one-liners, but they are actually funny due to how idiotic they are.
Director Herschell Gordon Lewis ignores creating any suspense, scares or attempting any storytelling and gets right into the splatter. The movies run at a decent pace, but the longer the gaps in kill scenes you might slightly lose some interest, but there is enough silly things happening to keep the viewer mostly interested. When it comes to the gore, Lewis doesn’t hold back at all. As I stated before a girl is repeatedly stabbed in the face and has her flesh ripped off and the meat tenderizer scene is the highlight; a girl has her throat slit and then an iron pressed against her face and if things couldn’t get any worse she even has her nipples cut and milk pours out (yes you read that right).
The Gore-Gore Girls has no real plot and while the production values aren’t too bad despite the low budget, but the movie is really just poorly made in every aspect, from lighting, editing, acting, writing and directing, but yet these things are what makes this movie so much fun. I don’t think anyone can really say H.G. Lewis is a good filmmaker, but the guy clearly knows how to make an entertaining no budget movie.
The Gore-Gore Girls is one of my favorite splatter flicks and H.G. Lewis never attempts to make the movie more than that. The comedy aspect is intentional for the most part and Lewis just sets out to make a movie that is fun and he succeeds in doing just that. If you need your gore fix The Gore-Gore Girls will more than deliver on that.
Last Road Reviews 