I have to give this film 8 stars because of it honest attempt to be something more than it's lack luster storyline. The story revolves around a drug addicted prostitute (Nessa Hawkins) who murders her last Jon as he tries to rape her. She is rejected by every element of sleaze that she comes in contact with and is all but given up to the street, until she is given the name of a safe house that turns out to be anything but. I wondered why our she remained in this house, as the things she was witness to was far worse than the crime she committed. But I began to see the subtle hints (and I mean VERY subtle) that the film makers were giving you. I understand that it is the way of most films to "dumb it numb" for the new generation of horror fans, but this film remained true to it's imaginary and attempt to answer our questions with visions rather than words. I respect the attempt, even if they didn't exactly pull it off. I was reminded of the films of Nicolas Roeg (The Man Who Fell to Earth)or Lindsay Anderson (oh Lucky Man) who used surreal images and editing to move their story forward. Much to my surprise was the studio who released this film; Brain Damage Films, whose normal video fair caters to amateur filmmakers with handycams shooting young women getting killed with copious amounts of blood and guts. Did they know they had a gem in the rough here, or are they attempting to raise their level of fare? I did notice a Brain Damage stable; Syn Devil who was thankfully given a minor role, and obviously asked to keep her camera mugging to a minimum. It is too bad that her role as the Angel of Death was pivotal to the story and she delivered it as badly as one would except from the stripper. The kudos for this film has to go to Nessa Hawkins, who endures degradation's so vile that if this were a mainstream film she would have been nominated for an academy award. My heart went out to this character and I have to believe it is in part the acting talents of Ms. Hawkins. The films does wrap up a little clumsy and I was waiting for the end title to have a question mark, but I became very intrigued with the end title music. A song with a haunting vocal and interesting bass line. This film is worth a look, maybe even a second since it's a sensory overload!
