“Even the nicest person has their breaking point!”
Midnight Releasing, the distribution company that brought us 2016’s supernatural slasher Knucklebones, is back at it with their latest release Strip Club Massacre! Co-written by Bruce Kilroy and director Bob Clark in his directorial debut, the film is a great and entertaining entry into the very popular genre of indie horror…sexploitation.
THE PLOT
Megan (Alicia Watson) is a beautiful, but down-on-her-luck woman. She just lost her job, her boyfriend has been cheating on her, and she pretty much has nowhere to go. Deciding that it’s time for a change, she calls up her long time friend Amanda (Courtney Riggs) to ask for a place to stay while she begins her new lease on life. When she arrives, it’s clear that Amanda and her boyfriend Bobby (Stefan Rollins) are living the good life, all thanks to Bobby’s job. He’s the co-owner of a local strip club called Tease. Clearly in need of a job, Megan takes him up on his offer to be a cocktail waitress, even though Amanda is strongly against it.
As soon as she starts her new job, it’s clear that she has just entered a competitive atmosphere full of sexy, but catty women. The queen bee of the club, and the most bitchy of the bunch, is Jazz (Erin Brown). She instantly takes a dislike to Megan and makes the work environment a living hell. After working there for a couple of days, Megan decides that waitressing is just not cutting it financially. She approaches the club’s other co-owner John (Mark Law) and asks for a chance to give dancing a try. He warns her of the hardships she’ll encounter, but she insists that she can do it.
After a while, although she seems to be good at her new position, it’s clear that her relationship with the other dancers isn’t getting any better. In an attempt to make her feel better about things, John invites her to his house for a pool party just to kick back and have a good time. It starts out ok, but as the night goes on the truth about the club is slowly revealed, and after an unfortunate event Megan is pushed to her limit and decides to take matters into her own hands!
SHOULD YOU SEE IT?
From the title of this movie alone, you pretty much know what you’re getting yourself into. Sexy women, a bit of cheese, boobs and blood…it’s sexploitation at its finest! Strip Club Massacre delivers everything you would expect in a low budget indie horror flick. Although some of the acting is better than others, it’s not as terrible as some might expect. I felt that Alicia’s lead role of Megan was pretty good, and her chemistry with Courtney (Alicia’s real life best friend) was great! Erin Brown delivered a great performance of the bitch that you can’t stand.
My only real complaint was that the massacre was a little reserved, and not as violent and gory as I was hoping for. Don’t get me wrong, it definitely has its squeamish moments, and the use of practical effects is always a plus for me. That’s one of the best highlights of indie horror!
Overall, I would recommend this flick to any fan of low budget indie horror. The pacing wasn’t too bad, the dialog and plot are pretty entertaining, and I never got bored while watching. The film just might make you think twice about giving the quiet and sweet people a hard time. It might bite you in the ass in the end!
