February is Women in Horror Month, and Shudder is celebrating with “A Woman’s Touch,” a collection of films highlighting and honoring horror movies directed by women.
One of the films in the collection is the Soska Sisters (Twisted Twins Productions) crazy film, Dead Hooker in a Trunk. This was the first big feature film for Jen and Sylvia, showing their unique style and vision meanwhile creating a huge fan base. Not only did they write, direct, and produce this film, but they also starred in it. The story follows four friends as a simple errand turns into the fight of their lives when they find a dead hooker in their trunk, and things only get crazier from there.
Although I’ve seen Dead Hooker in a Trunk before, it had been a while, so I felt like I was seeing it for the first time. The Soska sisters really know how to deliver a kick-ass story, complete with sex, violence, gore, humor, and fun characters. It’s much different than American Mary, another film by the Soska sisters, yet still has that same gritty and hardcore vibe to it. You never know what is going to happen next, and I love that. It’s a type of story in which the viewer has to ask themselves if any of what’s going on is really happening, and yes, it most definitely is.
Dead Hooker in a Trunk is relentless, with shocking amounts of naughtiness, blood, and gore. The actual dead hooker in the trunk is probably the tamest thing in the entire film, meanwhile, the rest of it is a complete mind fuck. A chainsaw to the arm, ripping out intestines, losing an eye, a hammer to the mouth, and multiple bloody gunshots to the head are just some of the crazy things we see.
The characters are one of the best aspects of the film. Each character has an exaggerated stereotypical persona, but their unique and strong personality exceedingly bring life to the story, and we get to see them develop as the story progresses. There’s the sexy badass played by Sylvia, the nerdy geek sister played by Jen, the rock star junkie played by Rikki Gagne, and the goody-two-shoes played by C.J. Wallis. They are all vastly different yet work together for one common goal — to survive the crazy incidents happening around them.
I love how the Soska sisters play complete opposites. One does everything by the books, and the other never follows the rules. You can see the admiration the geeky sister has for her “no f-s given” sister, and even proves that she can hold her own when crazy shit goes down. It makes you wonder if the twins in real life have ever felt that they were the geekier or more extreme sibling.
I’m not sure Dead Hooker in a Trunk is something that will suit everyone’s taste, but I say give it a shot. It’s one hell of a ride full of shocking moments, dark humor, and great twists and turns. There’s no better time to view the film as it’s now streaming on Shudder. If you love the Soska Sister’s other films, you’ll definitely love this one. Speaking of which, be sure to check out my editorial on these amazing and successful ladies here.
