Going into Bikini Blood Bath you have to ask yourself two questions: do you love old school slasher "classics" such as Slumber Party Massacre? Do you also have an odd twitch to see almost every T&A comedy of the same time frame with titles such as Screwballs or Hollywood Hot Tubs? If you answered, without hesitation, "Hell yeah!" to both of these mind-bending queries, then you're more likely to have a lot for fun with this than your average Joe. In fact, perhaps your average Joe might be better served checking out the latest Hollywood remake or Americanization of some form of J-Horror than this.

Writing-directing team Jonathan Gorman and Thomas Edward Seymour know they're making an unserious spoof in the vein of such Troma flicks as Class Of Nuke 'Em High and they've brought along cult favourite actress Debbie Rochon, packed in as many movie references as the seventy-two-minute run time allows (even riffing on Citizen Kane at one point), and delivered an immaturely humoured indie effort that's almost more fun that it has any right to be.

They've gone and hung as many jokes as they can think of off as thin a plot as possible as this basically has a group of bubble-headed high school girls deciding to have a weekend slumber party and falling victim to "Chef Death", who's escaped the asylum and is on the loose killing people that get in his way. While they attempt to stay alive, there's also a "guys only" sleepover going on involving the football team who are angry with the girls for telling them they couldn't crash theirs. Of course, seeing as this is the type of movie unafraid to "go there" as there's a whole slew of homosexual innuendos as the guys find time to dance around, look at each other longingly, and have unbridled enthusiasm for s'mores.

Bikini Blood Bath might be a cheaply made time but it gets a lot of mileage out of the fact that anyone who's ever watched these types of movies will find something within to laugh at. Gorman and Seymour understand this type of satire better than a lot of genre parodies have in the past (National Lampoon's Class Reunion springs to mind and that was written by 80's teen flick king, John Hughes!) and take every opportunity they can to make you chortle. From having things being obviously labelled (such as "car" or "football player", it's a joke that should get old but doesn't), the overuse of montages, and such absurd moments as our chef's hat popping up behind gravestones while stalking someone and the fact the girls take a daiquiri break while being chased, they've delivered an indie movie that entertains in its outright goofiness.

It helps immensely that the cast is completely in on the joke and look like they're having a fun time with it. Rochon gets to ham it up as the lesbian high school gym teacher and is matched by over-the-top performances by Russ Russo as Mike, Jack Flaherty as Todd, and Sheri Bomb as Suzy. For what amounts to a group of amateur actors, they have a much better sense of comedic timing than anyone who's been slumming around in the more recent Low Budget Pictures productions such as Carnage For The Destroyer.

Like I said before, this is definitely not for everyone. You have to be in a certain type of mood for it and have a high tolerance for poke-you-in-the-ribs lowbrow humour but, if like me, you're excited to see that (and get the reference of) the sequel being sub-titled Bikini Bloodbath Carwash, then you should definitely check this out. (Chris Hartley, 5/6/08)

Directed By: Jonathan Gorman, Thomas Edward Seymour.
Written By: Jonathan Gorman, Thomas Edward Seymour.

Starring: Debbie Rochon, Leah Ford, Thomas Edward Seymour, Phil Hall.

Picture Ratio: 1.78:1 Widescreen.

Picture Quality: Shot on digital for little money, Bikini Blood Bath looks fine on disc. It's obviously not on the level of studio productions but it's alright for what it is.

Extras: I would've enjoyed some form of commentary or behind-the-scenes but I'll settle with what's here as we get a trailer, a blooper reel, a photo gallery, and a music video by "White Liger" which is basically a spoof of 80's hair metal bands.