Review of Dead Hooker in a Trunk

This seems to be a film that divides people into the camps of rabid critics or excitable supporters. "Dead Hooker in a Trunk" was one that interested me because of the unique title, and when I watched it I was strangely compelled. Twins "Badass" and "Geek", along with their friends, discover that the body of a hooker is in their car, and they begin to panic, as two of them ("Badass" and "Junkie", the characters are never named) reveal that they don't remember anything about the previous night. So "Badass" leads the group on a quest to ditch the body, all the while arguing with her twin sister and her friend "Goody Two Shoes" about their lives and what they should do. Things get complicated with the arrival of the police, a mysterious man dressed as a cowboy, an unknown serial killer in a hoodie, and the fact that their hooker may not be as dead as she seems... The film should descend into madness and incoherency at this point, but the Soska sisters manage to maintain a good pace throughout, with the 4 lead characters all strong enough to pull off what is required which is more than a simple blood and gore fest. It mixes elements of a thriller with a B-Slasher movie, road-movie and plenty of comedy. The old-school gore effects have a sweet nostalgia to them, the villains are actually genuinely menacing, and the entire exercise just about manages to hold itself together. The mood does whiplash occasionally, with the light-hearted antics of the crew suddenly being cut short with "Junkie" losing her arm to the Yakuza and "Badass" and "Geek" torturing a man to death in a surprisingly brutal and effective scene, though this adds to the experience rather than detracting from it. That said, there are moments when one can tell that this is their first film, with wobbly camera-work and sometimes clunky dialogue, but it is a highly polished and frequently amusing first attempt, topped off with a really cool cameo from Carlos Gallardo, and a very good soundtrack that fits the tone perfectly. Certainly a film to look at if you want a bit of fun.