Knife + Heart

After a series of strange murders, a film director trying to finish her most recent gay porn realizes that the incidents are centered on the cast of one of her films by a masked maniac intent on seeking retribution for a past film mocking a debilitating incident he suffered and tries to stop him.

There was a lot to like with this one overall. Among the most likable factors here is the generally impressive setup that manages to work a highly effective old-school atmosphere into the universe of sleaze and depravity featured here. As there's a generally fun vibe during the film shoots that take place, whether it's the early threesome choreographed by her friend, the police station interview mock-up, or the arthouse-style recreation of the murder scene, that all combine to set up the confines of the studio system she's working within at the same time as the killer begins striking the performers of her crew. The recruitment of new performers to fill out the roles of those who are being killed off goes along rather nicely with the discovery of the origin story at play tying everything together. As well, there's also a lot of fun here with the enjoyably decadent and erotically-tinged kill scenes at play throughout here. Being fueled by the atmosphere at play here with the killer preying on victims by employing sexuality to his advantage just as freely as the performers do in their scenes with a highly-engrossing arthouse sensibility to its technical prowess, this one comes across as a rather slick and stylish effort. With some effective suspense in the opening ambush in the nightclub with the actual attack taking place in the bedroom, appearing to a drugged-out victim in the car, or the dizzying sequence in the forest during the rainstorm, the attacks in this one are quite brutal and enjoyable that are a part of this one's likability. The other good part here that has a lot to like is the overall giallo-styled format that's in play. The whole concept of the creative crew being targeted by the strange masked killer that fuels an investigation into their identity after getting nowhere with the authorities is a classic genre trope employed to good effect here. After the series of murders targeting people in her company, that she's forced to play amateur detective and investigate who's responsible for the deaths leads her to the small-town kid who died and set everything in motion with the events that angered him being replicated in her films is a setup in the style. This gives off a rather fun setup that goes alongside the rather impressive technicalities and extravagant lighting featured throughout to give this an enjoyable enough series of positives. There are a few minor drawbacks that emerge here. The main issue here is the decidedly non-giallo setup that gives away the killer's identity rather than focusing on investigating who it actually is. Instead of looking into the potential suspects since this never provides any and then discovering who they are at the very, this just flat-out says who it is and then features a confrontation with the identified figure so there's little suspense about who it is that goes against the genre's setup. There's also a lot to dislike with that final confrontation which is pretty underwhelming rather than cathartic and ends the film on a slightly sour note. It's the features that end up holding this one back.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, strong sexual references, Nudity, and drug use.