Bordello Death Tales contains a trilogy of stripped-down creative grindhouse stylized dark demented tales of true nasty video conceptual design with interesting endings all from Chemical Burn Entertainment and directors James Eaves and Pat Higgins. The three stories are connected by a brothel run by the mysterious Madam Raven (Natalie Milner) and yet the storylines avoid the traditional introductions of a horror hostess but combines low budget tales in a well managed and evenly directed pattern. The grizzly tales unleash upon the viewing audience contain a fair amount of blood, guts, gore, kooky gentlemen, bizarre women, and a power drill dripping with bodily remains, all for the lovers of less than b-horror galore. Eaves and Higgins manage to create stories for fans of the dark side of the net, with enough blood, black humor and measure with nudity to entice horror hounds requiring a fix of to remain happy before testing their sanity at their workplaces.
“The Ripper” story from writer James Eaves (The Witches Hammer [2006]) starts with unlocking the doors in the mind that lead to terrible places with a chilling brutal story that brings a tip-of-the-hat for the prostitutes who often find themselves the target and meal of authorities, animals across the landscape of life. Graham (Stuart Gregory) a strange and puzzling loner who finds himself with Madam Raven and venturing forth to conquer his lustful intentions and spread his personal seed of design upon a lady of the night. However, in this tale even the women of the night are reaping their own path in life, and in some manner, they are a ripper; too. It’s obvious early on, this is a variation on the Jack the Ripper tale with a fun an entertaining blood-soaked gore-fest, with a measured amount of sadistic humor and a sleazy appeal, especially as Graham meets an obedient girl named Sharon (Tina Barnes (Hellbreeder [2004])) and perhaps ending in an advantage of porn drilling torture.
Screenwriter Alan Ronald (Angry Nazi Zombies [2012]) introduces the audience to the second tale, “Stitchgirl” as a campy gothic black and white tale with Eleanor James in the lead role, with a character that appears as a Sally of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas [1993] lookalike. The story falls oddly into the trilogy, with it resembling more of Frank Henenlotter’s Frankenhooker [1990] reference than a straight-up salute to James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein [1935]; even the script borrows heavily from the later mention movie especially with a character name Dr. Whale. Julian Lamoral-Roberts portrays Dr. Whale as a truly artistic and sinister lunatic feeding his creative juices with much of the illegal offerings found from the streetwalkers, all for delights of the low-budget independent horror fans.
Writer and director Pat Higgins (TrashHouse [2005]) concludes with “Vice Day” nasty with a very particular nasty flick, filled with blood and female anatomy versus a political perverted man, seeking reelection, in a dark and extremely wordy production. The two principal players, a lovely webcam girl Destiny (Danielle Laws) and prominent politician with an increasing darkside Daniel Cain (Cy Henty (Hellbride [2007])) whose names alone describe these two intimating well in this weird story. Daniel Cain, whose last name hints to negativity and Destiny’s name stating where everyone strives to arrive, and each sharing how similar their lives and professions truly a mirrored image of each other. Their lives of telling lies, allowing others to live out fantasies while they horde their own vices, good and bad to fulfill their quests. Daniel strives to have one day every year where he indulges in everything he against and that his supporters endorse him for his high moral standards, and against people like Destiny and her career. The discussions parallel between politics and adult entertainment, that has her performing her craft and talents to keep Daniel not only interested but exploring a sinister world that involves a game of Russian roulette. Pat keeps the story moving forward, provide a few twists and turns among the way, and raising the sexual factor with webcam in more erotic angles providing shifts in tones all to reach the final endgame or in this manner.
Like many other horror anthology films, they find themselves in the mix of a love or hate them and Bordello Death Tales sadly is no different. The name intrigues and a cover that brings new slices of gore and the hints of beautiful women being systematically pounded, drilled, penetrated into blood messes – what isn’t there too enjoyed for fans of this wicked conjuring. By the way, stick around to the very end of the film for a feminist outcry to all the male domination in the film.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1312230/
IMDb Rating: 3.4/10
Baron’s Rating: 3.5/10
This review was originally published in August 2014 on the now defunct Rogue Cinema website.