Bitch Ass – 2022
Bitch Ass starts with an introduction by Tony Todd. He mentions all the ikons in the horror franchises and it’s especially funny when he comes to Candyman. It is his own character after all. He describes what we’re about to see as the first black serial killer movie or something like that. Now, I don’t really care what color of the skin the killer or the victim has, as long as the kills are entertaining and preferably inventive. The introduction itself might be a favor done by Tony Todd, I don’t know. I don’t think it serves any direct purpose. Maybe it adds something to the all-black cast idea? I don’t know.
The Main Plot
The main plot in Bitch Ass revolves around these four youngster who are about to rob a house where there’s supposedly some hidden riches. It’s not obvious if it’s money, jewelry, or something else but something worth a lot of money is said to be in that house. I’m not sure if any of them are supposed to be a comedic sidekick. At times I think all of them are. That’s a good thing by the way. Bith Ass doesn’t seem to take itself too seriously which I like. It gives it time to play around with some humor as well. Now, there’s no obvious humor or slapstick or anything like that. There’s just a general light feel to it.
To call it tongue in cheek is a too strong phrase to describe it but it’s the closest thing I can think of right now. The acting is good but it has that vibe to it that makes it kind of ridiculing. Oh, and this break-in is done on a special night. Some particular evil night according to the film itself. And behind the robbery is an older criminal letting the others do his dirty work for him. If it’s because he’s too scared to do it himself or if it’s the history he, himself has, with the previous inhabitant of the house. The guy that now is waiting and wants to play games with the robbers.
Bullied Killer
We soon learn that this guy was heavily bullied by his peers during school and that the grandmother he grew up with was a very strict religious person. Hence, he didn’t have an easy time whether he was at home or in school. We get more and more of that puzzle during the film and I can’t help to feel sorry for him even though he now has taken to murder. One by one the robbers disappear and he’s playing a game with them. It’s not games like in Saw where there’s no way to really win and where the stakes are self-mutilation. He, himself takes the same risks and is punished equally when he fails to win the games or the rounds.
The games are basically ordinary games, board games modified so that the outcome becomes more violent and bloody. But no really outlandish torture machines. I like that. It fits the character well who really was a timid soul back in the day. The cat and mouse part inside the house almost reminds me a little bit of The Collector and The Collection movies. He knows the place inside and out and the robbers don’t.
The Room Names
There are traps set in Bitch Ass and we also get to see the names of the different rooms on screen as if it was a board kind of game. At first, I thought the house was really decorated with those texts, “Grandma’s Room”, “The Playroom”, “Start” and things like that. But I then realized it was just for us. It would have been cool if he made the whole house as a board game, but nope.
It’s pretty obvious from the start who, if anyone, will survive Bitch Ass. I’m sure everyone will figure this out immediately just as I did. If you don’t? So much the better, then you have a surprise in stall for you. Most of it is pretty standardized, but it also gets better the more minutes that go by. The more you get to know the characters the better the result. The comedy side of it gets less and less. Mind you, it’s not a comedy, just a little on the lighter side at times. I guess you might call it a Black Comedy of sorts (no pun intended). Everything that can go south, will do so. That’s the definition of a black comedy, isn’t it?
When coming to the end phase there are a couple of possibilities for how it could and and I guess there’s some sort of twist ending. Not that it’s very entangled and the final few scenes are just as expected. But In all fairness. I liked it. It felt fresh and it was very enjoyable