APOCALYPSE KISS [2014]: out now on R1 DVD

Apocalypse Kiss (2014)
Directed by: Christian Grillo
Written by: Christian Grillo
Starring: Carmela Hayslett, D.C. Douglas, Tammy Jean, Tom Detrik

USA

AVAILABLE ON R1 DVD: Now, from Midnight Releasing

RUNNING TIME: 101 min

REVIEWED BY: Dr Lenera, Official HCF Critic

It is the late 21st century. The sun has started to transform into a supernova, a small planet has left its orbit and headed straight for earth, and earth itself is ruled by large corporations who flood countries with their products and are given 100% access to all data/control over the population. Serial killer Adrian, aka the Red Harvest Killer has, in his opinion, made killing into an art form, but he feels that his reputation is threatened by two nomadic lesbian killers Katia and Gladys who begin to grab some of the media attention that was his, while Detective Jerry Hipple, whose wife was killed by Adrian, is on Adrian’s trail….

Christian Grillo, the director of Apocalypse Kiss, is also….take a deep breath….the writer, composer, editor, production designer, set decorator, VFX coordinator and camera operator of the film, which could be some record and probably beats Robert Rodriguez. His film, which he made on a very low budget, therefore deserves some respect even if the result isn’t too good, but luckily Apocalypse Kiss is quite impressive, at least for its first two thirds. It doesn’t quite fulfil its potential and ends rather awkwardly, but it might very well be the best looking film I’ve seen this year, and is without a doubt a kind of showcase for what can be achieved with little cash but lots of talent and enthusiasm. I’ll be honest and say I wasn’t expecting much after what I felt to be the poor quality of the previous film from Midnight Releasing I viewed, the lame slasher flick Rabid Love, but within just a few minutes of watching the noir-ish science fiction serial killer thriller [honestly] Apocalypse Kiss, my mind was totally changed.

Now when I say the words ‘noir-ish science fiction’ you probably think Blade Runner, and indeed the shadow of Ridley Scott’s great film is all over this one, which sometimes seems as if Grillo set himself the challenge of recreating Scott’s future world with the small amount of money he had at his disposal, though the fact that he partially succeeded is very impressive. The influence of films like Strange Days and Brazil is also obvious, fans of Dexter will probably be convinced that show was an inspiration too, while the look reminded me of pictures ranging from Mystery Men to Dick Tracy. Apocalypse Kiss is a strange mix of influences stirred together, and quite often this can result in tedium, feeling as if all you’re getting an insight into is the director or writer’s favourite films. This particular film isn’t really like that. It has a quirkily original feel all its own while the plot, though still relatively simple, managed at least two turns which took me by surprise, a rare thing when you’ve seen far too many films and can usually predict what’s going to happen next. It has a beguilingly odd atmosphere, as if we really are watching some alternative reality rather than a possible future, which steers the film through its weaker aspects, and there certainly are some of those, though I always find it easier to forgive flaws in a cheap independent production like this more than in a huge Hollywood blockbuster where the time, money and technology exist to surely put most things right?

Apocalypse Kiss has a striking opening scene which really draws you into it. Even the opening credits, over a nude female statue with whooshing electronic sounds, are strong, after which we then witness two pretty girls allowing themselves to be lured back to the hotel room of a very dodgy looking guy. He plies them with drugs and even strips off [you have been warned], but what is just as interesting [in fact it was probably more interesting to me as I love it when great attention is paid to things like set design and colour] as what it going on in the foreground are the backgrounds, the hotel room being composed of the most amazing colour schemes. Things turn nasty as one of the girls seems to let the man have sex with her but clearly isn’t enjoying it one bit until the other girl comes behind her and stabs her to death. The titles proper then play over sexual images of the two girls together, something many may find crudely exploitative but I can’t say bothered me in the slightest, and footage of news reports which give us some idea of the world in which we find ourselves, a world which isn’t that far from our own and is quite plausible despite the simply amazing look virtually every scene has, with reds, purples, greens and blues beautifully bleeding on to the screen from the sides and corners, God this film looks gorgeous!

Don’t worry though, there is a solid story and decent characters with all this, though oddly it would have worked just as well in a realistic, ‘present’ setting with just a few tweaks. The most screen time is given to Katia and Gladys, the lesbian couple who use Glady’s body to lure men so that Katia can kill them. They’re an interesting pair these two, especially the deaf and dumb [or is she?] Katia who we never really get a handle on, and their relationship manages to be convincingly touch yet tender at the same time. I’d happily watch a film with just these two [by any chance are you reading this Christian?], but luckily we also have the enjoyably obsessive compulsive and extremely smug Adrian, who considers his kills to be “unpredictable works of art” and is very concerned about how he is perceived in the public eye. Then there’s Detective Jerry Hipple, who narrates parts of his portion of the narrative in time honoured film noir fashion, and has a wife who hates his job, though she’s actually dead. These four characters are just destined to all meet and you know it’s going to be bloody. Though not an action film, it all rattles along at a terrific pace until around two thirds of the way through, where it starts to stall and then turns into a totally different film altogether in its last ten or fifteen minutes. It’s brave, and well realised to take advantage of the minimal funds available, but its randomness [mentioning what may happen briefly once briefly doesn’t constitute setting something up in my opinion] means that one doesn’t feel moved the way one should.

While not a comedy, Apocalypse Kiss has a light touch some of the time and a few offbeat laughs. The two girls go to a booth to get ‘credit’ from a victim’s belongings, and on either side of the booth are TV screens containing the faces of dentical women who look like Bjork and repeat the last few words of nearly everything Gladys says. There are also, sad to say, also a few laughs to be gotten from the acting, notably Tom Detrik who just does not convince as the detective, while Carmela Hayslett’s Russian accent is laughable, but D. C. Douglas is terrific as Adrian, being amusing, hateful, scary but charismatic at the same time. Genre stalwart Tom Aitkins turns up as a police captain [surprise surprise], Troma head Lloyd Kautman puts in a rather moving cameo as the US President, and Michael Berryman has a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him appearance as a corporate head. Meanwhile what special effects there are work well enough, and the small amount of wide shots required by the budget doesn’t make the film claustrophobic because it’s just so lovely to look at. There are a few brutal kills which do have quite a strong impact, most notably a suffocation which really is quite unpleasant, plus a bit of lesbian ‘action’, so this is definately one for adults.

Grillo’s electronic score works well and the mostly nu-metal-ish or techno-ish songs do seem to be an organic part of the film rather than just plastered on. In fact, I’d say it’s the best use of songs in quite a while, perfectly accentuating each required mood. Much of Apocalypse Kiss is so well crafted that things like the annoying ending or ropey performances are more annoying than they might be in other films, because otherwise it could have been a genuine modern genre classic. As it stands, it puts many of the genre efforts that we see in our multiplexes to shame with its freshness and its ingenuity. On the evidence of this [I haven’t yet had the pleasure of viewing any of his other work but it’s something I reckon I’ll get round to fairly soon], Christian Grillo, whether as a director or in one of his other many roles, has a hell of a lot of talent. Apocalypse Kiss is well worth seeing, and there will be some of you out there who will even love the ending!

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