DEAD GIRLS

Directed by DENNIS DEVINE
Written by STEVE JARVIS
Cinematography by AARON SCHNEIDER

Diana Karranikas - Gina Varelli
Angela Eads - Dana
Kay Schaber - Amy
David Williams - Elmo
Steven Kyle - Mark

I won't lie to you. It took me a few tries to finally get all the way through this one after falling asleep about the 20-minute mark. Fortunately, Dennis Devine's DEAD GIRLS ends much better than it starts. The set up is slow, but once things get rolling the movie moves along at a pretty good clip.

You have to wonder about any kids who would try to kill themselves after finding inspiration in rock music. (Well, you have to wonder about kids that try to kill themselves, period.) What sort of alienation were they subject to? Where did they loose contact with their parents? Is it possible that someone could be so lost emotionally that the only peace they find is through death brought on by their own hand? Is Rock & Roll really the reason? While DEAD GIRLS opens with the mass suicide of a group of teenagers who find guidance through the title band's lyrics, the film never explores any of these questions. It doesn't have to.

The death cult was led by Brooksie, the younger sister of lead Dead Girl Gina Varelli. Of the tragedy, Brooksie was the only survivor. When Gina hears of what happened, she rounds up the band and her baby sister and takes them on a vacation to a remote cabin in some woods by a lake. Just like in 10 Little Indians, of any Friday the 13th movie, everyone is picked off one by one by a masked psychopath. The twist, each murder being taken directly from a different song in the Dead Girls' catalog.

DEAD GIRLS was filmed in 1989, when Tipper Gore sat on the Congressional floor and argued against the many dangers of rock and roll music. I wonder what her reaction would be if she saw this film today. Chances are she would say it's a bugle sounding for her cause. "Violence begets violence and rock music is at the center." Tipper would be way off base. This film is about the hypocrisy found in organized PC groups. It's about how pro-lifers bomb abortion clinics and those inside, it's about welfare-mothers panhandling for money during the day and getting into brand new Cadillacs at night, and its about politicians who cry censorship on a platform of freedom.

Whether these things were on Devine's mind while shooting, or not, we may never know. I've said it before, the best horror films comment on the environment of the times that they were made. While DEAD GIRLS may never be regarded a classic like George Romero's NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, John Carpenter's HALLOWEEN, or David Cronenberg's THE FLY, it does deserve it's place along side them as a film that can transcend the genre and become something more. A real sign of the times.

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You can purchase DEAD GIRLS directly from the Cinematrix Releasing website. www.unknownproductions.com