Though the awkward high schooler Cecil (Jarvis Denman Jr.) plays games of all kinds, the scarred adult he becomes, Bitch Ass, doesn’t. No playing games with the audience in the movie that bears his name, either. Right off the bat, director Bill Posley along with his co-writer Jonathan Colomb make no bones about the adult Cecil (Tunde Laleye) being a cold killer, as he “rescues” a young woman only to pull her into his lair.
That’s also if the framing sequence starring horror legend Tony Todd as late-night monster movie host Titus Darq didn’t tip you off.
Wearing its motivations on its sleeve doesn’t mean Bitch Ass isn’t fun. It’s just honest about its influences. There’s a drop of Jigsaw in its lineage, along with a few other classic films, but blended into something fresh. Because it’s set in 1999, much of the movie looks like a slasher from that period. And then the editors disrupt that with modern techniques. They play with aspect ratio, splitting the screen and sometimes outright slashing it. It’s anime storytelling, and it’s exciting.
Bitch Ass also includes brief animated interludes like chapter headings of a videogame. When 6th Street Gang initiates break into Cecil’s house, the audience sees each room identified like a game of Clue. Though don’t call it that; Cecil creates his own variations because it’s hinted that his Grandma (Sherri L. Walker) would rather have had him be creative and sheltered. Grandma also interprets the Bible with a lot of fire and brimstone, so Cecil was messed up from within and without.
That’s the strongest character motivation. But even if some characters are underwritten, every actor makes them believable. As the good but straying student “Q,” Teon Kelley manages a good son/mother banter with Me’lisa Sellers, a single mom who knows exactly what kind of neighborhood they live in. She also knows a bit more than she’s telling, but that helps drive the plot.
Mostly, Bitch Ass overcomes its two limitations of budget and COVID. We’ve seen a wave of indie films shot during the height of the pandemic, and they stand out for having abnormally quiet street scenes. And though Posley and cinematographer Steven Parker do some clever camera work to hide where the budget could not go, that makes the more lurid scenes stand out all the more. (You do not want to play Cecil’s take on Operation.) There’s also a simplicity to Cecil’s killer persona that makes sense; Posley and Colomb lay out breadcrumbs you might not notice, but they pay off.
Bitch Ass ends up being a worthy low-budget slasher film. It’s clear that it has aspirations to be more, and if Titus Darq wants to “present” another chapter down the road, it would be welcome. Especially if a higher budget can up Cecil’s game.
Bitch Ass is available for rent/purchase on Amazon and Apple.
Fanboy Planet is an Amazon affiliate. Purchases made through links on this and other pages may generate revenue for the site.
