Crazy Bitches

Scary movies and comedies have a lot in common; They both are about the audience getting an emotional release, either through laughing or being scared. So these two genres should easily be able to blend, right?

More times than not, the marriage doesn't work. This blend is one of the hardest things to do onscreen. Perhaps it is so difficult to get the balance right because they are both so specific. "Crazy Bitches" attempts to mix the two genres, but its problems are much larger than finding the right blend of scares and laughs.

"Crazy Bitches" has a classic set up for the horror genre. A group of former sorority sisters reconnect for a weekend on an abandoned ranch. What most of them don't realize is that the ranch was the location of a series of murders from years before and the murderer killed each girl based on their vanity. The killer was never caught and, as each of the friends now goes missing, it seems to be the work of the same killer.

The characters are stereotypical and even make the cardinal sin of horror movies. They explain away why every missing person isn't there, which hurts the film because it never allows any tension to build. If the characters aren't actually scared, why should the audience be scared? It's also hard to root for most of the characters to survive because they come across as awful people.

Directed and written by Jane Clark ("Meth Head"), the film is billed as a horror parody. However, "Crazy Bitches" doesn't have a consistent enough tone to garner enough scares or laughs to achieve its goal. The only scares come from cheap gotcha ones, mostly from people being startled and surprised. The laughs are also not hearty enough to sustain the film, offering just chuckles throughout the film.

With these types of films, you need to go big or go home in at least one of these categories to be successful. Clark seems to be conflicted about the amount of violence and gore that she wanted to include. Some of the deaths have really quick cutaways, while others require more than a little blood.

As the film goes on, the script unravels into a third act that makes no sense. The final reveal creates more questions than it answers and, as the credits begin, the inconsistencies and plot holes only become more obvious. Despite the script issues, there are fun performances that are able to rise above the material that they were given. Cathy DeBuono straddles the line that lets the audience root for her to survive while suspecting that she could also be the killer. Candis Cayne camps it up for her cameo scene, while Guinevere Turner suffers the most in a role that should have been a highlight of the film. Actor Blake Berris is underused as the only real eye candy in the film before meeting a most unfortunate ending.

The one thing that Clark does get right is that "Crazy Bitches" isn't necessarily a gay horror film. It is part of a newer trend in the industry that is telling gay stories without it necessarily being the focal point of the film. The story is larger than the characters' sexuality, though it does come into play throughout the film.

"Crazy Bitches" had the potential to be great, but it lacked the proper follow through in its execution. It's a shame because the cast seems to be more than game for whatever is coming. For that reason, they deserved better instead of this crazy mess.