Review of Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009) by Archibald T — 25 Sep 2012

The debut movie of new horror auteur siblings Jen and Sylvia Soska doesn't have a huge heap of money behind it to make it look flash and pretty but it makes up for this with a tongue in cheek script and a collection of characters that you can't help but feel a bit of affection for.

Four friends, a bad ass, her geek sister, their junkie friend and choir boy hanger on find the dead body of a hooker in the trunk of their car. Before they can dispose of it, a series of bloody encounters takes them on a wild chase during which bonds and friendships are formed. It's a bit like Stand By Me with the body coming along for the ride.

The Soska sisters head the cast as the bad ass and geek respectively. You get the impressions that there's probably quite a bit of themselves in their characters as they are really well defined. Upon reading about Dead Hooker in a Trunk, this reviewer has presumed that the characters would be male stereotypes so the film already pulls a fresh perspective on the "we have to get rid of this dead girl" by having a predominantly female cast in the main roles.

The Soska's show that they know how to use a good script to mask their budgetary concerns. A great moment has one character on an innocent phone call while the two others struggle to manhandle the corpse out of a motel room and in to the car. It's not all flashy, "okay, let's do this", under cover of darkness. These characters are shown making mistakes and it lends the film a certain real world feeling.

What they haven't let their budget spoil though are the scenes of blood and gore. Though there aren't that many, when the red stuff flows it's plentiful and enough to satisfy the carnage hungry among us.

When all that's washed away though, the film has a nice undertone of friendship running through it. These characters really do anything for each other and as bizarre as it sounds, you leave the film with a warm feeling inside.

It is a shame that at times the film feels like it's going for unnecessary shock value which feels like it's been put in there to sell the film to horror festivals. There was a good enough film here without having to resort to that.

The Soska sisters have announced themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the world of the macabre and they will hopefully one day make a truly classic horror movie. Dead Hooker in a Trunk isn't it but it's a good start.