An “honor killing” refers to someone killed for a perceived dishonor against a family, either an outsider or a member. Men usually commit these acts against women, which is common in Middle Eastern countries like Pakistan and India. These are often triggered by refusing an arranged marriage, wanting a divorce, being a rape victim, or even homosexuality. While the act is generally frowned upon in most parts of the world, honor killings are heralded in certain countries. Mercedes the Muse, the actress/c0-writer of Rose and Viktor: No Mercy, decided to tackle this subject. This film would be her directorial debut, taking inspiration from Thriller: A Cruel Picture and I Spit on Your Grave. She intended to empower women and speak on a controversial subject with the typical sleaze found in grindhouse movies. In early 2018, Troma released Mercedes’ directorial debut, Honor Killing.
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Synopsis
While walking home from the library, a young woman (Mercedes the Muse) is assaulted and raped by some gang members. Upon returning home, she asks her mother (Virginia Puccio) for help but is ostracized for bringing shame to the family. Her father (Sam Lopez) shoots her in the eye and leaves her for dead, only for her to reawaken. After recovering, the woman hires bounty hunter Viktor (Jim Schumacher) to train her to use weapons and hurt people. With her training, she kills the men who raped her and plans on getting revenge against her father. She also saves a prostitute (Vivi Marie), a stripper (Erin Shimokawa), and a biker babe (Soma Stardust) from abusive men. She even runs into a cult led by a deranged man (Cash Hann) and rescues the women under his influence. Soon, her father will get his comeuppance for his honor killing!
Review
Honor Killing is a narrative mess of a film, but it has ambition and a message to tell. While it does borrow from several other rape-revenge films, it helps that it’s based on something happening in real life. The most significant comparison would be Thriller: A Cruel Picture, from the one-eyed lead to them hunting their father. But while Mercedes tries her best, the movie doesn’t entirely work, primarily due to the poor cinematography and inconsistent acting. So many scenes are shot so close, and the camera shakes so much that it’s hard to tell what’s happening. It makes sense for the more intense moments, but even the ordinary scenes are like this, and it’s disorientating. Most of the acting is flat, with actors underacting and saying their lines like they’re reading off cue cards. Even Mercedes, despite her efforts, doesn’t sound convincing when she’s trying to be tough.
Much like Rose & Viktor, most of this film consists of random vignettes that don’t necessarily tie together. It’s cool to see our hero save a prostitute from an abusive pimp, but it doesn’t advance the story. Also, aside from the rape that sets everything in motion, most of the violence is pretty tame, which is surprising. I’m not saying a rape-revenge film needs to be super gory, but this is a lot lighter than you’d expect. Part of the appeal of these films is seeing rapists and abusers getting punished in satisfyingly brutal ways. There are a few decent kills, but don’t expect anything like the castration from I Spit on Your Grave. The movie feels padded at just barely over an hour, so this might’ve worked better as a short film. Overall, Honor Killing certainly tries, but it doesn’t quite hit the mark.
Buy Honor Killing from Amazon: https://amzn.to/3q7ivs0.
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