WFG RATING: B

A New Blood Entertainment/Not for the Squeamish Productions film. Directed by Jason Stephenson. Produced by Ben Ellefson. Written by Joe Knetter. Cinematography and edited by Kevin Myhre.

Stars Sarah French, Joe Knetter, Elske McCain, Rachel Grubb, Leah Avery, Obituary Mary, Shawn Bartle, Lindy Starr, and Joel D. Wynkoop.

What is supposed to be a girls’ night to remember the loss of a friend turns into a living nightmare in this indie horror film.

Kitty Carlson, a local dancer at the strip club, heads out after her shift and comes across a van parked next to her. When the man offers her money, she reluctantly takes a ride with him. Unfortunately, she is murdered by the mystery driver and left for dead in the woods. Upon hearing the news, Sarah Jensen, a fellow stripper, is heartbroken.

Sarah and her fellow dancers decide to have a girl’s night at Desiree’s house to celebrate Kitty and her memory. The group consists of Sarah, Desiree, Heidi and her twin Jezzy, and Judy. However, Judy decides to break the rules and invites her dumb-witted boyfriend Kincaid to the celebration. However, the killer is aware and decides to continue killing as the detective in charge of Kitty’s murder discovers he may be somehow connected to the killer. Will he make it on time, or will it be too late for these ladies?

Released in 2010, this is an early film starring one of this year’s WorldFilmGeek Hall of Famers, Sarah French. This was made during her “Scarlet Salem” era as genre auteur Joe Knetter not only wrote the screenplay, but also plays the titular “slasher”, a hulking monster decked out wearing a strange mask and finding strippers as his target. We get a lot of POV shots from the killer in the film and it’s not a complete gorefest at all.

There is something about Sarah French that oozes charisma and elevation when it comes to her acting. This may be a B-movie by standards, even a Z-movie with its five-digit budget. However, it is clear who is the best actor of the film with French showing her dedication to the role with her dancing skills in a flashback sequence with a young woman. In addition, with the people around her, she asks in one scene if she is the only sane one of the group and it is a resounding “yes”.

French and the victim, Elske McCain’s Kitty, seem to be the only characters you tend to care about when it comes to the potential list of victims. Shawn Bartle’s Kincaid is the uninvited boyfriend of one of the ladies that everyone can’t stand as he attempts to be the “life of the party” only to be such a skeezy party pooper. He is the type of character that you are hoping will get his eventually from our killer. As for Joel D. Wynkoop’s Detective Dooley, he goes a bit over the top when he learns who the killer may be and goes to warn the ladies as he is somehow connected.

Strip Club Slasher may suffer from being a Z-movie by most fans, but it is clear we have a star in the making in Sarah French. She has the ability to elevate any genre film with her performances and this is no different. Is she the only sane one in the film? Absolutely but still a fun little horror movie to check out as a popcorn film!

The film is currently streaming on Tubi.