Jake Helgren is probably best known for directing Hallmark-esque films with titles like Dashing In December and Writing Around The Christmas Tree. But he’s also helmed thrillers and horror, and re-enters slasher territory with Bad Connection. Produced by James Cullen Bressack, and written by Helgren and Stephen Wells, the indie genre pedigree cannot be beat. So, does the movie deliver on the fun kills and chills it promises?
The story begins when two idiots in their late-teens pick the pockets of a random person at a convenience store. Thye nick a phone and a ring but quickly discover that the customer was the wrong person to steal from as he murders them to get the items back. Unforunately, this nameless Hunter (Chris Gann) only retrieves the ring back, as the phone was sold. Specifically, Mark (Michael Naizu) bought the phone for his girlfriend, waitress Nina (Dana Davis), after she had a terrible day and a rude customer intentionally threw her cell into the dirty dishwasher. But of course, the Hunter tracks the phone and soon is killing everyone in between him and his property. Can Nina and Mark escape or were their fates doomed as soon as the phone entered their apartment?
“…the Hunter tracks the phone and soon is killing everyone in between him and his property.”
Bad Connection is a lot of fun. The simple rationale behind the Hunter’s motivation is refreshing. There’s no convoluted personal this or that between the killer and the potential final girl. The murderer’s phone has evidence of other slayings, so he kills to get it back. No frills. It certainly helps that the kills are brutal and happen very often. The runtime is a lean 83 minutes and outside of the 10 or 15 minutes that establishes Nina and her relationship to those around here, there’s nothing but the killer hunting/murdering and the would-be victims.
Davis wows as the final girl. She’s so genuine and sweet it is impossible not to hope she lives at the end. Gann is physically imposing and frightening as the killer. Deon Richmond plays Detective Breslin and is effectively stoic but engaged. Naizu is adorable and fun as the well-intentioned significant other. Tiffany Shepis plays the sister of another victim and effectively sells the danger of the Hunter well.
Bad Connection is a fun, brutal slasher. For anyone hoping for some deep or profound look at why violence happens, look elsewhere. This is about a crazy killer murdering some likable people for 80-minutes and that is it. Thanks to the cast, cool kills, and swift runtime, that is more than enough to be seriously entertaining and highly recommended.
"…seriously entertaining and highly recommended."
