CINEMA
MURDERCISE (2023)
MPAA: NR
Release Date: 07/08/23 [VOD]
Genre: Comedy. Horror. Thriller.
Studio: A & P Productions.
"Phoebe is an obsessed fitness nerd who gets her big break on a sleazy workout video. After being ridiculed by her co-stars, Phoebe befriends a mafia princess wild child, who teaches her how to murder her way to the top."
OUR MOVIE REVIEW:
Murdercise promoted a fun, campy concept which prompted me to review it. The movie solicited a few well earned chuckles from me, but is ultimately limited by its razor thin premise that would serve better as a brisk short over its feature length run.
If you can successfully resurrect the nostalgia of being a 12 year old boy (i.e. Me) eagerly tuning into Cinemax after 11 PM on a Friday night, this movie is worth the ride (and the $3 rental fee). That’s right! For less than the price of a grande Frappuccino extra whip, you get scantily clad women ‘exercising’ (I guess that’s what they’re doing…sure…) in leotards, a gratuitous, sudsy opening shower sequence within the first minute, and a brutal murder incited by an aggressive, busty flasher who uses her breasts as a weapon of annoyance and aggravation.
The movie is quirky, shallow, & simple. It’s filled with slap-stick bits and some amusing, albeit unoriginal dialogue and story beats. The movie was crowdfunded and scraped together from an ultra-micro budget, which is impressive from the standpoint of what it was able to accomplish with so little. I tip my cap to a passionate cast and crew who sought out to make a fun & ridiculous campy ‘romp-com.’
Low expectations are key to having a good time with this one and it’s worth noting and appreciating the art of stretching a low budget thinner than the spandex flaunted by its stars.