Debbie (Debbie Rochon) is a B-horror veteran, icon if you will, but
she's past her prime and finds it harder and harder to get good roles -
especially after her long-time boyfriend and producer of her trust Peter
(Matthew James Gulbranson) has thrown her out of their home and quit
working with her ... but Debbie's not one to give up easily, so eventually
she invades his home, drugs Peter, ties him up, slaughters his new
girlfriend Tawny (Tawny Amber Young), and ... The next day, Debbie's on
set for Peter's latest production, an abandoned hospital, claiming she's
filling in for Tawny - but Peter can't be reached to confirm that, while
the other actresses (Paula Labaredas, Michelle Tomlinson, Dani Thompson)
are less than happy about this late addition as everybody knows Debbie's a
diva and a bitch, while the director (Guy Torry) feels somehow awkward
because after Peter broke up with Debbie he took his side and not hers,
and the P.A. feels totally overwhelmed by the whole situation. Only the
creepy caretaker Norman (Adrian Quihuis) seems to be positively thrilled
to see Debbie, and she's thrilled to find he's got a great collection of
axes. And then members of this motley crew start to die on set, but Debbie
is always quick to convince everyone they have just bolted ... but of
course it was actually Debbie killing her competitors, her director, the
P.A., with a variety of axes - and the creepy caretaker makes sure the
bodies are stored away in the hospital's morgue and the crimescenes are
left squeaky-clean. But there's much more to this story, as Debbie didn't
actually kill Peter, even if she had plenty of opportunity (and apparently
the knack) to ... Kelsey Zukowski plays young Debbie, Rachael Robbins
Debbie's lawyer, both in short but vital scenes. Axe to
Grind is nothing if not a fun movie: Carried by dependable fan fave
Debbie Rochon,
who seems to have the time of her life, this movie has all the elements
that make B-horror so excitable: Some gruesome killings (though the movie
never goes full slaughterhouse), some creepy characters, but also some
sexy girls, one of whom's also a great killer, bits of nudity to keep
everyone happy, plenty of dark humour, and a general not-too-serious
approach to the material. And still, this is not just your formulaic
slasher, it holds a few plottwists you might not expect, and especially a
properly macabre ending, and it's quite a bit better written than your
usual indie slasher - yet still it's a movie genre fans will definitely
enjoy ... and maybe also people who are not even genre fans.
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