Bitch Slap is as unsubtle a film as its title suggests, with slow-motion close-ups of glistening cleavage, blood drenched violence and girl-on-girl action anchoring a simple but entertaining story.
Filmed in a low budget, blue-screen style that's a little jarring, at times, Bitch Slap relies on the fast-paced momentum of its story to carry audiences through the visually awkward moments. Intentionally cheesy, in a good way, the film's comic book-ish style manages to keep the tone light despite the often brutal on-screen violence.
Unfolding in a series of incremental flashbacks, Bitch Slap tells the story of three women ― Trixi (Julia Voth), Hel (Erin Cummings) and Camero (America Olivio) ― attempting to recover a cache of stolen jewels buried near the desert hideout of a gangster named Gage (Michael Hurst). Tensions rise between the women as they search for the buried treasure, while having to deal with a cast of oddball characters that keep arriving to foil their plans. As we glimpse more and more of the women's past the true nature of the plot begins to unfold, bringing to light the girls' true motives.
This isn't a thinking (wo)man's movie, and the paper-thin plot won't hold up to any scrutiny, but it's obvious Bitch Slap was designed to provide cheap thrills and an easy escape from the real world. It is gratuitous, obscene, violent, adolescent and more than a little silly, but it does what it does well.
Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless both appear in small roles, no doubt due to director Rick Jacobson's previous work on both Hercules and Xena. And Bitch Slap does exist in the same continuum as those shows, albeit at a much more rated-R end of the spectrum.
The low budget style of the film doesn't particularly lend itself to big screen viewing but for people that like mindless, over-the-top action Bitch Slap will make a great DVD rental.
(E1)Filmed in a low budget, blue-screen style that's a little jarring, at times, Bitch Slap relies on the fast-paced momentum of its story to carry audiences through the visually awkward moments. Intentionally cheesy, in a good way, the film's comic book-ish style manages to keep the tone light despite the often brutal on-screen violence.
Unfolding in a series of incremental flashbacks, Bitch Slap tells the story of three women ― Trixi (Julia Voth), Hel (Erin Cummings) and Camero (America Olivio) ― attempting to recover a cache of stolen jewels buried near the desert hideout of a gangster named Gage (Michael Hurst). Tensions rise between the women as they search for the buried treasure, while having to deal with a cast of oddball characters that keep arriving to foil their plans. As we glimpse more and more of the women's past the true nature of the plot begins to unfold, bringing to light the girls' true motives.
This isn't a thinking (wo)man's movie, and the paper-thin plot won't hold up to any scrutiny, but it's obvious Bitch Slap was designed to provide cheap thrills and an easy escape from the real world. It is gratuitous, obscene, violent, adolescent and more than a little silly, but it does what it does well.
Kevin Sorbo and Lucy Lawless both appear in small roles, no doubt due to director Rick Jacobson's previous work on both Hercules and Xena. And Bitch Slap does exist in the same continuum as those shows, albeit at a much more rated-R end of the spectrum.
The low budget style of the film doesn't particularly lend itself to big screen viewing but for people that like mindless, over-the-top action Bitch Slap will make a great DVD rental.