Dead Hooker in a Trunk is Bloody Good Grindhouse-y Fun.
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Dead Hooker in a Trunk is exactly what Grindhouse-esque films should be. Is it perfect? No, but it's still damn fun and brings everything you'd expect from the title.
Written by James "Crypticpsych" Lasome
March 6, 2011
Buy on Amazon U.K.
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Release: April 20, 2009 (Canada); May 23, 2011 (UK DVD)
Directed by: Jen and Sylvia Soska
Written by: Jen and Sylvia Soska
Starring:
Sylvia Soska as Badass
Jen Soska as Geek
Rikki Gagne as Junkie
C.J. Wallis as Goody Two-Shoes
Just like when I reviewed Bikini Girls on Ice, sometimes the title gives you an expectation. Dead Hooker in a Trunk, as a title, basically promises an endless canvas of options from a single plot element. In essence, a Geek (J. Soska) goes out to visit her Badass twin sister (S. Soska) and her Junkie friend (Gagne) before going to pick up her Youth Group-attending Goody Two-Shoes friend (Wallis). After the foursome gets together, they start to head out in the Badass's awesome classic car. Suddenly, they notice a strange smell. After pulling over, the group finds a dead hooker and a pile of drugs in the trunk. The Badass and Junkie have little to no recollection of the previous night's events and have no clue how it got there or if they had anything to do with it. Against the Geek's wishes, they decide not to call the cops and instead head out with the corpse to figure out where it came from and bury it.
And that's all I'm going to say. The best aspect of Dead Hooker in a Trunk is the sense the viewer gets that absolutely anything can happen in this film's world. Much of the crazy happenings of this movie are best experienced relatively blind. When the viewer thinks the story has hit a plateau and things will calm down, some fresh new twist hits. Consider that the film lists actors playing the roles of "Sketchy Guy", "Cowboy Pimp", "Weirdo", and even "God". The possibilities inherent in this story are limitless, entertaining, and, at times, very funny (if only lightly horror-y).
The multi-hyphenate Soska sisters (actor-director-producer-writers) have definitely produced a fun, if flawed, movie for their debut. It's well-shot and truly captures the feel of an old Grindhouse-style film. Outside of a few pieces of modern technology seen (cellphones, GPS tracking, the Geek's Game Boy), the film really feels like it could have come from that bygone era. A lot of this comes from the mere presence of the awesome classic car and the fact that the duo chose to film the movie in a style that, while clean, isn't pristine and crystal-clear. It has just a touch of washed-out yellow to otherwise clean shot, but a little does a lot for the overall atmosphere.
The chemistry of the quartet is also fantastic. While, in some movies I watch, I beg to know the names of characters, here that's less important as they're credited as Feast-esque stereotypes. The brilliance is that all the leads are deeper than that initial stereotype. Wallis and Gagne are both good in their more supporting positions in the group, each growing in their own way (Gagne acting against a violent ironic plot twist and Willis evolving from an annoying, holier-than-thou start to a more likable character). However, by far, the stars of Dead Hooker in a 
Trunk are the Soska sisters themselves. Sylvia's "Badass" can wield a handgun and throw a punch with the best of them, finding an effective balance between sexiness and toughness. Jen's "Geek", while admittedly not SUPER geeky, is great because it has plenty of hard-edge and sexiness that comes out from time to time, in addition to her main less impulsive, more moral traits. This combination of differences and similarity helps make the duo believable as sisters (in addition to the fact that they're twins of course).
However, there are a couple of flaws that hurt the final product. First, once again, sound is an indie issue. Unlike other films I've seen that have issues with looping and dubbing, though, here the issue is that the admittedly good background music and score has a habit of sometimes becoming too loud for the dialogue. It's not as bad as the sound issues of, say, Razor's Ring, but it is still a significant point that holds the film back.
Ironically, the other big Achilles' Heel of Dead Hooker in a Trunk is also what I've called its best aspect. It's true that the film is memorable because of its unpredictability. It's also true that I loved the various plot twists and "anything goes" style. That said, I'd be lying if, at times, I didn't feel like said "plot twists" weren't connected well. It's one thing to make a story in which lots of crazy happenings occur. It's another for those to, at times, happen so fast as to feel a bit overwhelming, particularly early on. While it doesn't kill the film by any means, it does definitely keep it from being as good as it could be.
Overall, Dead Hooker in a Trunk is a fun Grindhouse-y debut from two filmmakers to watch. It's unfortunately hindered by sound issues and a tendency to get a little TOO crazy early on. However, it still features great characters, an anything-goes sensibility, and near-perfectly captures its target old-school feel. It's definitely a wild ride that's worth a look and makes you anticipate the Soskas' next work.
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