#1,036. Dead Hooker in a Trunk (2009)

Directed By: Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska

Starring: Rikki Gagne, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska





Trivia: The first screening of the film took place in February of 2010 at the Ghouls on Film Festival in the UK








The directorial debut of twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska (who also wrote the screenplay), 2009's Dead Hooker in a Trunk is a stylish nod to the grindhouse films of yesteryear, and while the movie is far from perfect, it has an intense energy that you simply can’t ignore.

When they smell something funny coming from the back of their car, two sisters, known only as Geek (Jen Soska) and Badass (Sylvia Soska), and their friends Junkie (Rikki Gagne) and Goody Two Shoes (C.J. Wallis), pull over to investigate. What they find is (as the title suggests) a dead hooker (Tasha Moth) in the trunk. Geek and Goody Two Shoes think they should call the cops, but because neither Badass nor Junkie can remember much about the night before, they’re afraid of what a police investigation might turn up. So, they decide to dispose of the body themselves. But with the deceased’s angry pimp (John Tench), as well as a serial killer, hot on their trail, getting rid of a dead hooker won’t be as easy as they thought.

Dead Hooker in a Trunk is chock full of head-scratching, “WTF” moments. In one scene, Junkie pays a visit to her pusher (who’s also her ex-boyfriend), only to be caught up in a dangerous situation when a gang of Triads breaks into the apartment, leading to a gory, blood-soaked showdown (with some convincing practical effects). From there, the movie gets more chaotic, and not even the main characters are safe from harm (one loses an eye when they're hit on the head with a baseball bat). Dead Hooker in a Trunk is a crazy film, and it only gets crazier, and more engaging, as it wears on.

That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. For one, the constant use of hand-held cameras gets a bit distracting after a while, and an overall lack of structure plagues the picture from start to finish; at times, its feels more like a series of unrelated vignettes than it does a feature film. But while Dead Hooker in a Trunk may come up short in the narrative department, its ballsy attitude, combined with a high-energy style, makes for a hell of an entertaining movie.