Part-emotional drama and part-horror film, Elliot Feld’s feature film debut is a fun and wild of a bachelorette party gone completely wrong.
Kate is a mild mannered worker who has been estranged from her younger sister Ange for the past few years. When Ange invites Kate to her bachelorette party, Kate is unsure at first. However, at the urging of her dying father, Kate agrees to go. There, she reunites with Ange and meets her friends Sara and Mel. Taking a breather while en route, Kate begins to feel a sense of unity with Ange again, something she has been wanting for a long time.
However, upon their arrival at a remote cabin is about to be turned upside down. An insane family of killers, led by Briskman, have known about the bachelorette party. They intend to right a cosmic wrong and go about surrounding the cabin with only one intention: kill off the entire party. However, using her quick wits, Kate decides to use everything she can to defend herself, her sisters, and her friends to stop this bunch of maniacs before they become the victims.
Inspired by many directors, Elliot Feld’s feature film directorial debut draws inspiration from the likes of Sam Raimi and John Carpenter with perhaps a dash of Lloyd Kaufman. This is quite a film that melds an emotional Lifetime drama with the cult value of a B-movie horror film. The title comes from the interesting notion of supporting character Sarah attempting to come up with a nickname for lead character Kate that begins with the first letter of her name. This is a story that pits two sisters and their friends against a family of killers who have perhaps a ridiculous reason for even targeting Kate and her friends in the first place.
Lead star Alexandra Feld goes from playing an insecure young woman whose been estranged from her sister to one who is willing to go to great lengths to protect her, thus giving her a sense of security and confidence. She is perhaps the most structured character who goes through the most change as Danielle Burgess’ Ange is the younger sister whose inability to keep in touch leads to the estrangement. Amaris Davidson’s Sara is the happy go lucky member of the group with Abby Eiland’s Mel being best described as the “strange” one of the group. However, this is truly Feld and Burgess’ show with the former showing exactly why she becomes the titular Killer Kate.
Even the killers themselves are quite an eclectic bunch. The mastermind is never really seen in full frame, but more of a few mid-facial shots, but there is something with a very slow-driving tow truck driver that will make one wonder. However, the fearsome foursome of killers, themselves brothers and a sister have different personalities. Tiffany Shepis’ Christine is the most insane of the group as she thrives on the bloodshed while Grant Lyon’s Jimmy is an attempt to have a Paul Rudd-style member who brings a bit of comic wit only getting serious when needed. Terry, played by Brandon Bales, is the co-mastermind who holds a barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat that happens to have the same name of our heroine with Preston Flagg’s Tino is perhaps the little brother who’s seen in the film’s opening sequence bawling like a baby while the plan is being set in motion.
Killer Kate may please genre fans, both for those who like the emotional drama of a Lifetime movie and the insanity of a B-movie horror film. The 80-minute run time is perfect for this film as it goes by pretty quick, but fun nonetheless.
WFG RATING: B-
Freestyle Digital Media presents a Feld Films production. Director: Elliot Feld. Producers: Alexandra Feld, Elliot Feld, David Feld, Daniel Moya, and Jesse Pruett. Writers: Elliot Feld and Daniel Moya. Cinematography: Daud Sani. Editing: Carter Feuerhelm.
Cast: Alexandra Feld, Danielle Burgess, Amaris Davidson, Abby Eiland, Tiffany Shepis, Grant Lyon, Brandon Bales, Preston Flagg, Ashton Ruiz, Robert Donavan.
The film comes to select theaters, VOD, and Digital HD on October 26.
WorldFilmGeek 