CFF Review: Throwback Slasher “Bitch Ass” Is A Game Night to Remember
Opening with horror icon Tony Todd (Candyman) name-dropping the likes of Blacula, Tales from the Hood, The People Under the Stairs and a few other hood horror classics before introducing us to the story of the first black serial killer, the titular Bitch Ass, is certainly a way to root this title in the 1990s. Directed by Bill Posley (Cobra Kai) and featuring an all-black cast, retro board game inspired kills and creative editing Bitch Ass looks to join those aforementioned classics as a staple of the genre.
After a Rubik’s cube stylized opening title sequence the movie cuts to a scene in 1999 that’s also cut into tiles that shift like a Rubik’s cube before combining into a single frame as a thief is dragged into a shed (labeled the “Game House”) by a masked figure. We are then introduced to Q (Teon Kelley) and his group of friends as they are told their final gang initiation task, robbing the house of an old woman down the street who has just passed away whose grandson is rumored to terrorize the neighborhood. It’s a simple setup that has a little extra backstory with Q looking to get a scholarship to become a doctor and get him and his mother out of where they are, but apart from that the rest of the group that enters the house has little to no backstory.
That’s not to say there isn’t anymore backstory at all because their story is interwoven with the backstory of the killer who is hunting them down one by one as they split up to rob different parts of the home. The backstory here is a nice touch as it adds a little extra personality to the killer who otherwise would’ve been a pretty ordinary killer with one exception, his method of killing. As he gets a hold of each member of the group they are forced to face the killer in a different twisted version of a board game where the loser is killed which leads to some memorable set pieces even if they aren’t as elaborate or in depth as one might expect. It’s a mixture of Saw and Squid Game as they face off in games like Operation, Battleship and Connect Four (which is the most memorable) and these sequences are simple enough in concept but thanks to some creative split-screen editing they end up elevating the movie beyond its limited budget.
The editing in general is the true standout of this movie with little playing cards for each character that get crossed out as they are eliminated and location titles that they try to blend into the environment as the group investigates each room. Some of them look a bit off because you can tell they were added in post-production. For example one of them says “Grandma’s Room” and it’s overlaid on the headboard of her bed as the character enters the room and it would’ve been extra slick if it had looked more naturally etched into the headboard but it’s still a nice touch for something that didn’t even need to be there. The strengths of the comic inspired panels more than make up for this and it was used at just the right times to not feel overdone while also adding a unique visual style.
The one technical aspect of the film that might throw some people off is the ultra-wide aspect ratio that is used for the rest of the movie that isn’t done with split-screen or panels. It’s not completely without use as there are a few times that it’s used to show a large number of characters or show things that otherwise wouldn’t have been visible if they had chosen a more typical aspect ratio but there are a few times throughout the film where it looks a bit off.
In recent years we’ve seen the re-emergence of the slasher genre with titles like Fear Street, Happy Death Day and the myriad of legacy sequels from the big franchises but Bitch Ass definitely deserves a seat at the table with it’s unique perspective and innovative split-screen editing style that really helps set it apart from its contemporaries. The story isn’t anything we haven’t seen before but the intertwined narrative of Q and the killer and a splash of political subtext were interesting enough to have me engaged throughout. If you’re looking for a throwback slasher that has an extreme love of retro board games and utilizes a unique technical approach look no further than Bitch Ass.
