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In the horror/comedy hybrid, ‘You’re Killing Me’, we take a look at the life and death consequences of dating in the age of incessant chatter.
I was rushed to the emergency room last night, not because I’d suffered any great physical ailment, but because of the shock induced by having to watch such a tortuously bad film as “You’re Killing Me.” Okay, not really, but still. The film ostensibly is a comic-horror about Joe, a (perhaps) gay young man who was institutionalized as a boy because of his tendency to torture and kill small animals. When he’s released from the institution, he develops a series of relationships with gay men, killing some of them and killing on behalf of others. Joe is nothing if not honest. If he says he’s going to kill someone, it’s a good bet he’s really going to do it. Unfortunately, the other characters are either too clueless to pick up on the signs or simply don’t believe he’s telling the truth. Interspersed throughout this story are a set of internet videos completely disconnected from the rest of the plot and produced by Barnes (Brian Safi) and George (Jeffrey Self), who are friends.
I can’t say the acting is awful, but it’s not good either. At one point, a drunk bystander watches Joe viciously kill one of his friends, who puts up zero resistance at all, then stands perfectly still so Joe can kill him as well. George maintains his clueless affability by laughing all the way through Joe’s explanation of what he’s done. It all comes off as a tasteless and vapid gay melodrama, only with lots of gratuitous blood. The gay characters play to stereotype, all being well groomed, meticulous white men with overly effeminate accents and gestures. Even worse, they all come across as vain, clueless people who simply can’t care about anyone but themselves. Maybe director Jim Hansen means to make a commentary on the Los Angeles attitude and generally back-stabbing, no loyalty fee of the city, but if so, he misses his mark entirely. The only commentary I see is bad filmmaking.
Hansen has written an utterly predictable script. While some of the dialogue is interesting, the plot telegraphs every death and every awkward moment way ahead of time. I could figure it out and by the 45 minute mark, I barely paid attention. The internet videos produced by Barnes and George seem like bad versions of bad “Kids in the Hall” skits. The only real comedy here was found in the ludicrously staged murder scenes, in the passive reaction each victim had to his death and the woefully poor blood effects. It all gets compounded by a clunky soundtrack which shifts from peppy Indie-Pop to a bad synthesizer score better suited to “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.
The set works well for the story. Everything is neat, clean, and pretty, though in stark contrast with the action. While most of the victims are passive, lots of blood gets spilled. Hansen gives us a peek inside Joe’s mind with some rapid fire screen shots. Each moves quickly, and I’ll let you figure out where the spaghetti imagery fits. If you want to, that is.
Available On DVD & VOD March 8
