Film Review: Killer Shorts 2 (2010)

SYNOPSIS:

A collection of three horror shorts that focus on a group of friends hanging out at an old abandoned house in the woods, a man and his unfaithful wife, and a guy’s battle with a kidney stone.

REVIEW:

I love horror anthologies (Creepshow and the original Tales from the Crypt being my favorites and I love low budget horror flicks so I was really looking forward to checking out Killer Shorts 2 (before we watched it my wife asked me if it was about a pair of shorts that went around killing people which sounds like something the boys at The Asylum may tackle if they are reading this right now). While it may not be the best anthology film I’ve ever seen I still enjoyed it for what it was and will admit that it had its moments (as well as a large number of flaws).

The first segment entitled “The Killer’s Meow” is about some friends hanging out at a house in the middle of nowhere to get drunk and screw around and has a nice slasher flick vibe to it. The house is supposed to be empty but it turns out that a crazy cat lady and a couple of her cute furry friends live there, and before you know it someone is killing off members of the group one-by-one. The acting is pretty bad and the story is weak and unoriginal, but it is probably the best of the three stories. It’s predictable as hell (but there is at least an attempt to do a twist ending so they get points for at least trying) but it is still a fun little segment all around if you can get past the bad acting (plus I liked it because I thought that the cats that appeared in it were cute and I was glad that nothing happened to them as they are alive and well by the end, and Meagan Thompson-who plays the character of Eliza-is a real cutie).

The second short, “The Last Rendezvous 2: Retribution” is without a doubt the weakest offering. It is a sequel to another short but since I haven’t seen it I wasn’t familiar with any of the characters and don’t know how much it has to do with the second part of the series. The story revolved around a man (who is hit on by every chick in town it seems for some strange reason) and the wife that he suspects is being unfaithful. A masked killer starts stalking the couple and for some unknown reason decides to start killing off their friends. This one goes on a little too long and payoff really isn’t worth the wait. It could have been a five or ten minute endeavor but for some reason it goes on and on and is made up of a lot of really unnecessary scenes that really don’t add anything to the overall plot. The identity of the killer is lame and feels forced, and the gore effects look horrible (I realize it is a very low budget film, but come on guys! You could have done better than that if you had put a little effort into it). The only saving grace is the fact that Nick Mathis (who plays the male lead) is actually a very good actor and his talents saved this one from being a total waste.

The final and most bizarre segment is about a man suffering from a kidney stone and the approach he takes to get rid of it when all else fails. The first half is actually very interesting and realistic (I’m thinking that writer/director Michael Wade Johnson must have had his own battle with a kidney stone and was inspired to write this one) and the acting is decent, but it pretty much falls apart at the end. The conclusion comes out of nowhere and is just downright ridiculous instead of being shocking and clever like I think that it was supposed to be. At least we get some good eye candy in Chelsey Garner who stars as the main character’s blind date as she is a real hottie (she has a smoking body, too bad we didn’t get to see more of it this time around) and made the ending a little more bearable thanks to her involvement.

Killer Shorts 2 isn’t a terrible film, but at the same time I don’t think that I’ll be in any hurry to revisit it anytime soon (don’t get me started on the silly wraparound which is just pointless and plain terrible in every conceivable way).There were some things that I liked about it despite all of its issues (the bad acting and mediocre writing being the main ones), but I don’t think that it is for every taste unless you are like me and genuinely enjoy watching very low budget horror films that are made by someone who decides to make his or her own film and gathers some family members and friends to be in it. Check it out if it sounds like your thing, but keep in mind that in order to really enjoy it you are going to have to go into it with pretty low expectations.

Killer Shorts 2 (2010)