Chompy & the Girls

As much as I can find interest in broke horror-affiliated flicks that make the best out of their limited means, exploiting their economical poverty to give more boldness to their creative potentialities, Chompy & the Girls fails to raise its ambitions above an average bored-children-targeted show.

Poor special effects are never an issue as long as the plot is solid enough; this one isn't sadly. As enjoyable and delightful its absurdity can be, and beyond the 'wow-what-is-this?!' factor of the first appearance of Chompy, the writer plays it very safe and lazy. In retrospect, it feels like lots of original opportunities have been virtually wasted by a lack of imagination, and the story turns out very basic in the end making Chompy and his quest orphans of what could have been a really crazy tale.

The film obviously tried hard to counterbalance its loony side with the presentation of some human situations... that didn't convinced me more. Here again, the film misses its target: the young female character is too histerical, too superficial to bring about any valuable emotion to the father/daughter relation the writer obviously wanted to become the center of gravity of the plot. If the daugher's character is thin, the father's personality is empty (although I found the actor was good in all his restraint); and physically, really, he bears no resemblance at all to his alleged daugther - what at least could have make the possibility of a family link more tangible (there's still a doubt about the reality of the link however, but its too vaguely expressed to bear any relevance). As for the couple's crisis that abruptly reveals it-self towards the end, it is too very roughly sketched to make any sense at this point of the film.

The grand final is as funny in a good way as it is laughable in a bad way, and the happy-end epilogue drags like the crew didn't give a damn anyhow, what also raises the question of the editing and of the overall - messy - rhythm the film has. Again, like for many horror-tagged movies, what I miss the most here is an atmosphere, the sense of a peculiar mood that would really take you on a ride. Too bad, as its monster-ish character has a strong vintage Joe-Dante appeal and it could have opened to a more exciting experience.

Its a fun little film, the 'gimmick'of the film, chompy is a great idea, then it kind of fizzles a bit, but i had a fun time with it, kind of horror/comedy but quite light on both aspects, acting was great!

Like something lifted straight out of a nightmare and so surreal I won't be sure in the future if this movie exists or I just dreamed it.

The story kicks off within the first 15 mins with its intriguing inciting incident, which could have unfolded into a clone of something like 'It Follows' or any other generic slasher, but instead goes some place else entirely. The two leads are instantly likeable (one remains so for most of the film, and the other...) and I stayed invested as it twisted in directions I didn't expect, even at the end when the limits of the budget became distractingly apparent.

I appreciate that the director/writer clearly understands the premise alone couldn't sustain the albeit swift 90 min runtime and knows the characters have to be...well, characters. It does drag in spots as Jackson begins droning on in a schtick that wears thin, but it informs her character's place in life and Braband does a decent job establishing basic, understandable traits and desires with simple things like a noose and a pair of cowboy boots. As an avid viewer of low-budget trash, this was a welcome above-average effort for a film of this caliber, which earns it a 7 for me.

It never looks incompetent or cheap (except, again, until the last fifteen minutes), is well shot, edited and paced, and if Braband continues to hone this off-beat style, he has a bright future. I'm looking forward to his next film.

Something strangely appealing about the cast and oddball premise, but too much reads like an initial promising draft that wasn't pushed anywhere more interesting. However: Christy St. John is marvelous as one of the leads. How is she not a star yet??

There is no hiding the fact that this is a low-budget film. The special affects and CGI are passable at best, but mostly obvious. With the exception of Udo Kier's vocal cameo, the cast is pretty much unknown.

It would be easy to write Chompy & The Girls off as just another low budget indie flick, but it really is so much more than that.

The general plot is, admittedly, ridiculous. Bit the way it plays out is brilliant.

We have dark humour which is totally on point. Plot twists that nobody will see coming. Relationship drama that is presented comically, but also very honestly and realistically.

There are moments in this movie that, despite the absurdity of everything else that happens, really hit an emotional nerve; it really doesn't take itself too seriously, but can still pack a punch when it wants to.

Ultimately, this is a film that does wonderful things on a shoestring. Make no mistake: it's an absurd, silly story. Anyone wanting a serious, cerebral horror will be disappointed.

On the other hand, if you're willing to go along with the crazy story and madcap events, you're in for a wild, entertaining ride.