Bickel is still shooting movies on little to no budget, around Columbia, SC, with amateur actors and crew, and he’s always putting other productions to shame. Co-writing the script with Shane Silman (who played villainous Brother Marcus in The Theta Girl), Bickel has constructed a film that is an ultra-violent, profane, exploitation homage in the finest tradition of Russ Meyer. Yet, for all the low-brow blood, guts, and boobs, Bad Girls still preserves the essential filmic elements that make it relatable. The characters are fully realized, with motivations that (kind of) makes sense, and the script holds together coherently in the middle of the screaming, rage-filled, tear-assing around the countryside. In the madness, there are moments of genuine heart and soul. In one surprisingly sincere scene, an en-route salon breaks out when Val asks everyone to tell the story of the worst thing they’ve ever done.
The Mexico sequence was shot at the delightfully kitschy South of the Border roadside attraction in South Carolina, which is literally south of the border between North and South Carolina and styled as a tacky American simulacrum of Mexico. In other words, it is the most positively perfect location imaginable to shoot scenes for Bad Girls.
“…a trashy, in-your-face, blood-soaked thrill ride…a new favorite.“
Bickel gets in some digs at sacred cows… his lawmen are ridiculous caricatures. Agent Cannon’s (Mike Amason) penchant for outrageous made-up Southern sayings, and his apparent addiction to nasal spray, is hilarious. There’s also an amazing scene where Bickel takes the piss out of the notion of fetishizing veterans when the women pop in on an all-night donut and ammo shop run by a self-righteous vet, who is angrily reminiscent of Walter Sobchak from The Big Lebowski. This is also the only movie I’m aware of to feature a posthumous boner.
Bickel sums the film up succinctly himself in the promo material for its crowd-funding: “Citing influences as diverse as Jack Hill, Russ Meyer, Greg Araki, R Kern, David Lynch, Monte Hellman, Sam Peckinpah, John Waters, and Robert Downey (Sr.), we have crafted a vision more than just the sum parts of those influences. More than anything, it was probably the get-it-done-cheap lessons of Roger Corman that were the guiding light of this picture. This is a punk rock demo tape of a movie, made for people who love punk rock demo tapes and movies.”
If you love a trashy, in-your-face, blood-soaked thrill ride, Bad Girls is going to be a new favorite. Watch it as soon as you can.
"…for all the low-brow blood, guts, and boobs, Bad Girls still preserves the essential filmic elements that make it relatable."
[…] Bickel is a master of making wildly insane and entertaining films on almost no budget. He works with friends and finds sets that cost little to nothing. This is his third outing in this fashion, with the first two staking his claim to this rare space: The Theta Girl and Bad Girls. […]
[…] roaring celebration of the vile zombie movie tradition. Watch as the start of a double feature with Bad Girls To complete your theater night. There’s also something here that will offend everyone, as a good […]
[…] celebration of lowbrow zombie cinema tradition. Watch it as the beginning of a double feature with Bad Girls to round out your drive-in theater night. There’s also something here to offend everyone, as a […]