Movie Review: "Death Count" (2022)
Death Count Movie Review
Written by Stuart D. Monroe
Released by Mahal Empire
Directed by Michael Su
Written by Michael Merino and revisions by Rolfe Kanesky
2022, 81 minutes, Not Rated
Released on July 19th, 2022
Starring:
Costas Mandylor as The Warden
Michael Madsen as Detective Casey
Sarah French as #3 Rachel Phillips
Robert Lasardo as #6 Jose Mendez
BJ Mezek as #4 John Bruno
Devanny Pinn as #5 Selena Marshall
Wesley Cannon as #2 Coach Roberts
Denny Nolan as #1 Mr. Turner
Dave Shechter as #8 Mr. Curtis
Kimberly Lynn Cole as #7 Kim
Review:
This is my third go-round with the good folks over at Mahal Empire, and they are getting to be must-see viewing for your humble cinephiliac servant. With Art of the Dead, they took me completely by surprise with the class of their cheese. Attack of the Unknown’s alien madness sucked me right in. This time, they’ve put together an homage to the Saw franchise (with smatterings of other “torture porn” flicks like the Hostel series) that uses a setup with echoes of Cube.
Rachel (Sarah French; The Special) wakes up in a dank cell with no memory of how she got there. She’s not the only one, though- there are seven more prisoners in neighboring cells (some of whom she can speak with through a grate in the wall). They are being held by a mysterious masked man known only as The Warden (Costas Mandylor; Saw IV, V, and VI). They’re forced to perform self mutilations using only the tools in the provided chest- things like pliers, box cutters, and various blades. There’s a catch, though: they’re all educators or employees at the same school. Is this the key to figuring out who The Warden is and possibly surviving? Or are they just good, old-fashioned screwed?
Death Count does so many things right that any questionable decisions or logic/plot holes are frankly irrelevant. This is true drive-in fare for 2022 that carries that trademark Mahal cheese (which is aging quite nicely, by the way). Costas Mandylor creates a horror villain that has sequel written all over him…even if he does look like a low-level wizard with a flare for fancy masks. That trademark voice and cadence is the soundtrack to this film, & it is utilized to maximum effect. Genre legend Michael Madsen is doing his thing as only he can here, alternating between clueless and razor sharp with quirky good humor. Those two alone could carry the entire movie, but the rest of the cast compliment each other capably.
The mostly practical SFX are the true highlight, though. I mean, this is “torture porn”, right? Everyone prisoner that meets their fate at the hands of The Warden does so in gruesome fashion- a sublime head explosion, explosive eyeball madness, horse steroid insanity leading to bare handed self-mutilation…there’s something for everyone. And did I mention there’s a MUSTARD GASSING?! You heard me right, dammit. Mustard gas. It’s the highlight death of the film, bar none, and Devanny Pinn flat destroys it.
I also greatly appreciate the consistency from The Warden in regards to count and consequence; when he says that you have ten seconds, you’d better believe you only have ten seconds and not a second more. That smart writing leads to natural tension and numerous grimaces of empathetic pain. It also doesn’t hurt that Death Count punches you in the mouth from scene one with the aforementioned Scanners-esque head explosion.
Strong word of mouth will make Death Count one of those flicks that’s destined to be appreciated as an out of nowhere gem once it makes the rounds. The Mahal Empire gang continue to refine their look and particular flavor with a film that achieves exactly what it sets out to do and does so in gory fashion without a hint of apology.
And I’m here to tell you that I appreciate that shit.
Grade:
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
