Film Review: Bikini Mayhem (2015)

SYNOPSIS:

All Ivy Winters wanted was to be a model. After meeting with a potential agent, it seemed like her career was finally on the right path. But she soon finds herself drugged and humiliated. With her life spiraling out of control, Ivy is on the fast track to destruction. When tragedy strikes, she quickly realizes it’s time to enact bloody revenge on those who destroyed her dreams.

REVIEW:

Director – Eric Williford
Starring – Cori Collins, Katie O., Jody Taylor

“All we wanted was to be models.” So sayeth aspiring model Ivy Winters (played by Cori Collins) and gosh darn, if only she could’ve found the fame and fortune she so desperately desired. Too bad she decided to enter the cutthroat profession with a fair bit of naiveté. Oh well, she’s gonna learn hard and she’s gonna learn fast.

Cue the opening credits, filled with pulsating music, splashes of water, and models preparing for a risqué photo shoot. Everyone seems comfortable in their roles, with the exception of Ivy. She’s obviously out of place amongst all of the free flowing sensuality and sexuality around her. But dang it, she really wants to be a model. In a rather hilarious shot, she even strikes a pose while waiting for the train home.

Back in her bedroom she texts her mom, affectionately called Mommie Dearest (a nice horror shout out) and while her mom wishes she would go back to college, Ivy feels that her career is about to take off. After all, she’s meeting with an agent tomorrow and has quite a portfolio put together. A girl can dream, can’t she?

Too bad not everyone shares her enthusiasm. The agent, a gruff woman, immediately tells her to take off her clothes. After quick consideration, she’s hired for a photo shoot. Too bad it’s with creepy photographer Windsor. But good news, she’s been invited to an industry party. Too bad it’s with about 12 other people in a backyard with a pool that needs some cleaning. But good news, this will be the start of something special! Too bad for her, everything is not as it seems. And as her life begins to spiral out of control, will she find the inner strength needed to cope and make things right?

Bikini Mayhem, as a movie, is what it is, and unfortunately that isn’t much. There’s the old line, “you gets what you pays for,” and it applies here. If watching women in various levels of undress, all the way down to bare nakedness, is your thing, then you’ll be happy because this movie has it in spades. As for everything else, well, calling it a mixed bag is being generous. That’s one of the problems with a niche movie. It’s made for a niche market, which of course automatically limits the audience.

The score is well done in the sense that it fulfills its purpose: deep, pulsating rhythms made for booty shaking. The directing, being low budget, is serviceable. At times Eric Williford adds some artistic flair to the proceedings but it occasionally feels out of place. When it finally comes time to the bloodletting the special effects aren’t too bad, guts look like, well, guts. The acting is exactly what you’d expect and nothing more. The plot is quite simple but complications aren’t really needed in a film such as this. Throughout the movie you’ll be exposed to plenty of fetishes, some ordinary, some kinky, some nasty.

That isn’t to say it’s all bad. You do have one very funny spoof of rap videos entitled, “Yo Yo Yo Yo,” which gave me quite the chuckle. It felt like something the satirical newspaper The Onion would’ve done, and that’s saying a lot.

In the end, though, I would have to caution against taking time out of your busy schedules to watch Bikini Mayhem. It’s just under 80 minutes, but seems longer than it needs to be. I don’t think you’d ever want to watch this more than once so a rental would be the way to go. Just be warned, know what you’re getting yourself into.