By Liz Lopez
Rating: C+
When a film is listed as being in the horror/comedy genre, some folks may inquire how these two genres can describe one film. Scripted and directed by Michael J. Ahern, Christopher Dalpe and Brandon Perras, these three writer/directors also co-star in their own film. There is no doubt that this is a horror film they have written, given that there are various individuals killed in/around a Providence, Rhode Island drag club — The Out House. The kills are rather graphic and there is gory violence, blood spurts and all. Many individuals are not fans of horror films and generally they may not be fans of the “comedy” in this film. Death Drop Gorgeous does have some scenes that have a bit of humor to it, but I find it hard to use the word comedy for it. The one sentence I recall that is memorable is from one queen to another in the backstage dressing room, “If you’re gonna have two faces, at least make one of them pretty.”
The club run by Tony Two Fingers (Brandon Perras) has a stage where various queens perform their acts, and the drag shows have lip synched performances and fabulous make up/wardrobe that look very professional. The performers include Rosebud Cianci (Joshua Kilby), Lindsay Fuckingham (David Joseph Rivera), Tragedi (Complete Destruction), Audrey Heartburn (Paul Bohn) and Janet Fitness (Matthew Pidge). The elder of these is Gloria Hole (Michael McAdam), with a tired/outdated act and few admirers/fans left. Quite bitter, Gloria is not at all impressed when an aspiring queen, Brian (Christopher Dalpe) seeks advice and wardrobe. Gloria’s bitterness extends to many in the community and the audience soon learns to what extent the performer will go to keep her spot on the stage.
Brian’s close friend/roommate, Dwayne (Wayne Gonsalves), takes a job to tend bar when he returns to town. Soon after he starts his job, the murders begin. Tony Two Fingers doesn’t want bad publicity for his venue, so he calls in a detective buddy, O’Hara (Michael J. Ahern) to “take care of the body” and who then saddles his partner, Detective Barry (Sean Murphy) to do the dirty work. As another person bites the dust, the detectives start to think there is a vampire. The detectives make some statements as they discover each body and those may come across as humorous to people who like that sense of humor, but it can also come across as callous.
I admire the true indie spirit of the filmmakers and glad it has found success/fans in the festivals it has played. Watch it with an open mind as there are some scenes that have some acting that could use some tweaking, and others that are over the top – and that is not necessarily a bad thing in some films. Perhaps when the filmmakers have a bigger budget, we may see some more of their creativity with additional resources.
Rating: Unrated, nudity, sex, profanity, drug abuse
Running time: 1:44 It will be releasing in physical theaters (L.A, CO) and virtual theaters (nationwide), as well as On Demand on September 10th.
Source: Dark Star