Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Death Bitch’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Linnea Swanson, Traci Burr, and Doug Waugh as Alexis Walker, Detective Maddie ‘Schoey’ Schoefield, and Detective Shane Douglas in Ken Brewer’s DEATH BITCH. (Photo Courtesy of Livid Media Films.)

The 1970s were a fascinating time for motion pictures. Simply because, film became the source of catharsis for so many in an era that was so incredibly turbulent. For the United States had just exited the Vietnam War, and civil unrest was still on everyone’s mind and the divides were great across the nation, much like they are now, and that brought about… angry motion pictures that expressed frustrations and worked them out in stories that were just so incredibly violent and gory in nature. Because that was what the public demanded and craved... and needed. But once the anger faded, the cinematic landscape change, and some of what the 70s gave to life stuck around.
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After all, horror titans George Romero, Wes Craven, John Carpenter, and Tobe Hooper went on to have amazing careers from the angry work they presented in the 70s, but not all of those films were so fortunate. After all, the grindhouse features of that era faded away into memory, as did the exploitation features that shocked audiences everywhere. Simply because people really didn’t need them anymore, and those types of stories were no longer in demand. But they were not forgotten. Because now and again, you run into filmmakers that work to pay tribute to that era to keep history alive. But that’s really as far as it goes when it comes to any type of genuine continuation of grindhouse and exploitation features.

But believe it or not, there are still a handful of filmmakers eager to see if by chance… such films can thrive in this era of renewed anger and division, since movies in that style are returning to the marketplace, as evidenced by the new feature film from writer/director Ken Brewer, Death Bitch. Which is a film that plunges us into an everyday metropolitan city that is suffering from all the problems that we worry over now, and that divide us. A violent crime rate, gang violence, hell… there’s even a serial killer stalking the streets and of course, the police force in this town (which harbors detectives that are slightly more intelligent than a bag of rocks) accomplishes nothing in the fight against crime. If anything, the only person that seems interested in doing anything is the entity known as the Vigilante. A brutal crime fighter that’s had enough and is eager to clean up the streets and avenge an old pain before the situation in the city spirals out of hand.

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Which is the perfect way to resurrect exploitation and grindhouse concepts. Since the Vigilante is indeed the violent dark knight the city needs and deserves and she, yes… she, prowls the city with an efficiency that strikes fear into the city’s worst criminals, and she handles them with an extreme prejudice that brings forth what we know and love from these genres. Since she will beat the living hell out of the bad guys and gals in this town and tear them shreds if it means the streets can be safer and her pain can be lessened. Which gives rise to some gory and amazing sequences of violence that harken back to that era no problem and satisfy hardcore fans of those films while introducing a whole new audience to those movies in the process.
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But what makes this film fascinating, is that while it does its best to resurrect the era, even going so far as to pay homage to one of the OG vigilante/exploitation/grindhouse films via its title (see 1974’s Death Wish), it does not in fact, bring them back to life. Simply because that can no longer be done. For we no longer want to work out fury on screen, we want action on these matters, and we want understanding on how to prevent such problems from ever returning to our world ever again. Which is reflected by the depth present regarding the Vigilante’s backstory and via some of the more intimate moments with the bumbling cops of this town. Making this more of a unique parody of our worries so that we can dive into the root causes and their fixes.

Which makes for a very unique viewing experience, one that might be off-putting to some since the story starts out as a revitalization, only to become a grandiose study regarding the impact of violence on modern man. But it’s worth sticking with to be treated to what is… experimental cinema. Since it does swing for the fences in both of its explorations, and it does recapture the horrifying magic of these types of stories. In fact, the finale is nothing short of an assault on one’s senses because of the violence and fury that takes place. All of which makes this a worthwhile and sound watch. One that truly does wax nostalgic for genres gone by, while also pointing out why they cannot thrive ever again, and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a feature that tips its cap to the past while looking forward.

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