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Health & Fitness

Milwaukee Film Fest 2013: Billy Club


Most of great horror is the result of ordinary people encountering extraordinary monsters, be they human or otherwise. To make such a film great, or at least good, both the characters and the monster have to be, if not compelling, at least entertaining.

Sadly, “Billy Club” fails in both areas. Most of the characters don't feel even slightly entertaining, let alone compelling. They also aren't given much development or backstory, and they make choices that are completely idiotic even by slasher standards. To make matters worse, the film is mostly missing the sense of fun and/or closeness that can be found in other locally made horror movies such as “The Amateur Monster Movie” and “Dead Weight.”

“Billy Club” takes place in the 90s, and involves a group of friends who share a common tragedy: 15 years ago, one of their Little League baseball teammates was convicted of killing their coach and a two other members of the team. After one of their former friends heads back to his hometown, the group decides to head out to their former coach's cabin to pay their respects to him and their slain teammates. What could go wrong?

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In this case, said wrong is a deranged killer in an antique umpire mask, armed with a spiked billy club. Now, slasher movies and baseball are as American as you get, so with a few tweaks, this could've been a hilarious odd couple tribute to both. But they don't mix well here. Sometimes two things that are great on their own just don't go well together.

It's hard to believe that these are same people behind “Blood Junkie,” a tribute to the 80s slasher. “Blood Junkie” was a local gem of a movie, one that left you with the feeling that the director knew his way around a slasher. It felt retro, the characters kept your attention, and the bloody scenes were scary, suspenseful, and fun, with a twist ending I didn't see coming. Where did that go?

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“Billy Club” also commits one of the worst sins a horror movie can commit: the death scenes are boring. The victims barely put up a fight, making them look hopelessly inept, especially the female lead. This means it also fails as a tribute to the 90s slasher; the females may have gotten killed off like the men, but most of them were smart and fought back against their attackers. They didn't let their friends die when there was a gun sitting right next to them, and shoot the one man who was trying to help.

The pacing and the dialogue are also off, the movie meanders, and there's some social issues that definitely don't belong here. There is some slight surprise around the ending, and some of the actors do make their characters fun to watch. But mostly it feels like a wasted opportunity.

Grade: D



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