Girl Gone Bad (2022)

Girl Gone Bad (2022). 1h 31m

“Getting home after seeing The Legend of Maula Jatt (2022-also reviewed) at the cinema with a friend, I was pleased to discover that I had got back just in time for the latest stream release at the film festival Cine-Excess, leading to me joining the jury.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNote:Review contains some plot details.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eView on the film:u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDetailing in a discussion after the screening/stream that the project had begun getting planned in 2017, with filming kicking off straight after lockdown was lifted, writer/director Kevin Schultz makes his feature film debut with a blunt-force, visceral Slasher atmosphere, setting the foundation with a excellent, extended one-take tracking shot, that Schultz u0026amp; editor/cinematographer James Clark slice into, with close-ups on the bursts of gore.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSpending the majority of the title at in-door locations with just two people, Schultz dices a claustrophobic atmosphere from winding panning shots circling the brutal exchanges between Ron and Samantha,which shatter to whip-pans towards the blood-drench Slasher set-pieces.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eGiven only slivers to work from, Alison Thornton and Alex Zahara give very good performances as Samantha and Ron, with Thornton having Samanthau0026#39;s rage from the murder of her girlfriend burn through into her acts of revenge,while Zahara holds Ronu0026#39;s smirk,as he refuses to answer Samanthau0026#39;s questions over his deadly attacks.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDescribing the film as u0026quot;John Carpenteru0026#39;s Mean Girlsu0026quot;, the screenplay by Schultz sadly misses getting near the mark of either, due to attempts at macabre humour coming off forced and flat, the longer Ron is spent tied up (which is for the majority of the film), the less dangerous the character is made to look,all wrapped up in shallow dips into Samanthau0026#39;s romantic past, that leave her an empty void of vengeance,as she is declared not guilty.”