LOVERS LANE - Despite claims of sass in the blurb, these post-'Scream' teens are too dumb for meta. They act like they're in a much earlier kind of film; 'Lovers Lane' was released in the late nineties, but you could almost make a case for it as a remnant of the original slasher cycle. The story and setting are boilerplate 'psycho escapes' stuff that would feel stale even way back when, and it's almost refreshing that 'Lovers Lane' makes very few attempts to redeem this basic redundancy with any sparks of cleverness. I found its imagery, tone and atmosphere a bit more interesting. When I think of late nineties slasher horror, I think of studio bright fodder full of young blabbermouths who are as slick as the camera moves, but 'Lovers Lane' is shadowy and gritty and kind of stumbles along as an odd mixture of prowling synths, hazy lighting and gags that don't work (a principal decks a student in a bowling alley - said student just giggles). Though the gore is subdued, an ickiness drifts in - one kill feels gross through sound and suggestion alone. This ickiness spills over into some of the themes when we consider the relationship of two core characters and ask ourselves why a teddy bear in someone's bedroom looks like it has genitalia. Ugh. It feels like there's a more twisted movie lurking behind the scenes of this play-safe cash-in, but at least 'Lovers Lane' mildly entertains as it runs through the numbers, all the while beguiling us with its slight strangeness.
A GUN FOR JENNIFER - An all-female gang of vigilantes dishes it out to male perps in this gritty late nineties shoestring thriller. I like the cross between down and dirty B-movie and something a bit more indie / arthouse, though this one comes down more on the side of squibs and scuzz. The locations and vibes are great, slimy neon and punk dives, and it probably takes this part more seriously than its politics - "a go-go bar run by a feminist?" Yeah exactly. There's some decent action and a smidge of splatter, but the thing that drags it down is that same old same old - too much talk. Bit tighter and it might've been a shiny underground gem, as it is it's worth a look.
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