MicroCinema Scene

Three hundred or so years ago, in a badly-lit village, three sisters who practice the “good” kind of witchcraft, are persecuted by the world’s foremost F. Murray Abraham look-alike and his band of witch-hating rapist pals. When F. Murray goes too far and kills one of them, the two remaining witches place a curse for revenge upon them and…okay, I’m not sure. Some spooky demon clouds appear overhead and then were in the present-day, in the bedroom of b-movie queen Debbie Rochon and her pock-marked husband. She wants a little hump-action, but this husband, who really has no room to be avoiding the advances of anyone, tells her to shove off. Obviously, their marriage is in need of a tune-up.

Unfortunately, the husband (let’s just call him Pocky), instead of looking in the phone book for marriage counselors, hooks up with slutty-hot Julian Wells, who, in-between grotesque fuck sessions, plot the murder of Debbie. In a slight twist, Julian has her own money-grubbing reasons for the murder. In an even more, more M. Night Shyamalan-style tweeeeest (!), the newly-deceased Rochon comes back to life as a, get this, a bug-infested zombie! That’s not supposed to happen!

But it does, much to my delight.

Shock-o-Rama’s output the past few months has gotten considerably better, with Skin Crawl being their best release yet. Sure, it’s got the requisite T and A for the wank set, but at least now they are injecting some stories into the proceedings, as well as very competent direction and production values. I’m actually quite proud of them. You’ve done good, kids!

The acting is actually a step-up as well. No one shouts their dialog, which is nice. Debbie Rochon, of course, has always been great, and her addition to the cast actually does add a lot. Kevin G. Shinnick, as Pocky, is horribly good at making you want to see him die, so when he gets his, it’s a real crowd please. Most notable though is Julian Wells. Of all the actresses in that studio’s stable, I always felt she was given a short shrift. All the attention would go to the chest-less Misty Mundae, when a few nods should have been sent to Wells’ way. Here, she’s cast as a conniving bitch and dammit, it’s the role she was born to play. She’s fantastic, exuding a real sexy evil that hasn’t been done well since Basic Instinct or Jade—any female character in the early 90s film work of Joe Eszterhas, for that matter. I honestly mean that as a compliment.

Skin Crawl is a hallmark achievement for POPcinema (formerly e.i.). It’s a great Friday night horror flick. But even more so, it’s a nice break from the typical “erotic parody” fluff that they have spent years releasing, and I sincerely hope to see more original horror like this in the future. It’s proof that they are no one-trick pony.

Plus, one can only see Misty Mundae’s simulated ass-licking so many times.

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