Chainsaw Sally (2007)

Finally being given wider distribution after being picked up by Shock-O-Rama, this little gem should be in every chainsaw lovin’ horror fan’s collection. Drenched in blood and oozing sex appeal, Chainsaw Sally is one indie film that doesn’t disappoint! What can I say, I absolutely loved this movie!

By day, Sally (April Monique Burril) is your average small town librarian, dowdy and severe, shushing patrons who get too loud. By night, though, she dons her fishnets and her and her trusty chainsaw seek out those who have done her and her family wrong. She slices and dices through someone who is too loud in the library, a girl with an overdue book, a sleazy asshole in a bar and a local ice cream store worker who can’t spell “malt” to save her life (literally). Sally lives with her flamboyant and cross-dressing young brother Ruby (Alec Joseph), who tends the house and cooks up dinners made from the victims’ bodies. When they were younger, Sally and Ruby’s parents were brutally murdered by a trio of escaped mental patients. Their father (played by Gunnar Hansen, the original Leatherface) was shot and their mother was beaten and raped as Sally and Ruby watched. Before dying, their father took a chainsaw to the assailants and told Sally they were bad men and deserved to die. Looking after her brother since then, Sally has taken it upon herself to kill people she deems as “bad.”

Enter greedy developer Harvey Benton (David R. Calhoun) and his slutty attorney Cynthia Prescott (Kristen Hudson), who plan on developing the property Sally and Ruby live on. The owner of the property, Steve Kellerman (Mark Redfield), arrives in town and starts digging a little too deep into Sally’s family history while being enticed to sell the property to Benton. It’s time for Sally to oil up her chainsaw and stock up on supplies from local hardware store owner Mr. Gordon (Herschell Gordon Lewis) to protect her family!

April Monique Burril does a fantastic job playing Sally. One minute she’s a quiet librarian and the next she’s stabbing a rowdy guy with a paper tack! She’s much like a superhero – by day she’s a librarian, and by night she’s a sexy, chainsaw swingin’ avenger! Alec Joseph, playing Sally’s brother Ruby, is a real scene-stealer with his fantastic clothes, glitter makeup, high heels, boas and clever quips. The rest of the cast, including Calhoun, Hudson and Redfield, all do a great job as well. The story itself is solid and interesting, giving each of the characters complete and well developed back stories. The well-rounded story and three dimensional characters all give credibility, believability and add a whole lotta entertainment to the movie.

Chainsaw Sally is a low budget film and therefore does have some problems, most notably that the chainsaw blade on Sally’s instrument of doom never spins or smokes. These problems are merely a trifle, though, and didn’t damage my enjoyment of the movie. For an independent film, it is extremely well made, especially the development of both story and characters and the skill in the way it was shot. Props must be given to director Jimmy O Burril (April Monique Burril’s husband), as Chainsaw Sally is only the second film he has directed (his first was Silver Scream in 2003). Burril does a great job directing this movie and I never would have guessed this was only his second feature film!

The killings in Chainsaw Sally all kick some serious ass and while lacking gore, the movie makes up for it in blood splatter. In one particularly nasty scene, Sally seduces the ice cream shop girl (Jennifer Rouse), handcuffs her, and after failing to correctly spell “malt,” carves it into her stomach with a large knife before dumping a large amount of poison down her throat. The girl’s insides liquefy and spill into a metal bucket beneath her. In another scene she cuts a man’s penis off with a straight razor and then sticks a sparkler into the bloody stub.

It is refreshing to see a female serial killer who is intelligent as well as ruthless and isn’t just there to showcase her breasts. Chainsaw Sally is a character we come to understand, like and cheer on! I wish there were more films that featured serial killer babes like Sally that are both violent, bloody AND feature an intelligent, sexy leading lady.

Chainsaw Sally is a very fun film with great cameos (Gunnar Hansen AND Herschell Gordon Lewis!), a solid cast, an entertaining story, lottsa blood and a fantastic lead character that any horror fan would enjoy. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend ordering a copy for your bloody enjoyment!

The Shock-O-Rama DVD will be released February 27th, 2007 and comes packed with great extras. They include a commentary with director Jimmy O Burril and actress April Monique Burril (“Sally”), a Making Of Documentary, interviews with both Gunnar Hansen and the Godfather of Gore himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis, the Silence music video by the band Piss Ant, a Sally Artwork Gallery and much more!

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