Gorehounds Unite!

 The cleaner is a short 20 minute film by Michelle Fatale and starring Kristin Burke, Shannon Lark, Owen Thomas, and Chris Angelo. The film revolves around Grace who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder which affects every aspect of her life and soon creates tensions at her job and with her husband.

 I originally met the films actress Shannon Lark at a few film conventions when she was still touring with "The Living Dead Girls" and was immediatly taken with her. She is so enthusiastic about the horror genre and the people in it that its infectious. So thats where my initial intrest in the film came from.

 As far as the film goes it really delves into some new territory for the genre while still giving a sly wink to the horror fans out there. The film is shot so beautifully that I was immediatly impressed with Michelle Fatales skill with the camera. The characters are all fleshed out as well as you can expect for a 20 minute film and the locations are simple yet elegant.

 I must admit that when I first heard about female directors in the Horror genre I wasnt at all interested or excited as I figured most women would play it safe and turn the films into more of a drama then horror films. Ill be the first to admit just how wrong I was in this matter.....Women directors are bringing a breath of fesh air to a genre that as of late has gotten really stale. After watching both The Cleaner and Under The Ravens Wing back to back Ive discovered that women can bring so much more to horror film than most men can. They not only bring some really interesting ideas to the fray but they also are willing to explore places men just arent interested in exploring.

 It's nice to finally see a trend with these films where its not just a bunch of scantily clad women baring their breasts (hey I never claimed to not enjoy that too!) and getting killed by some random masked killer. These films actually have well written characters and plots. They dont just rely on the blood,boobs,and more blood school of filmmaking but instead focus on the characters and the story. And The Cleaner is one of these films. I have to point out as well there is alot more sensuality to the women in these films than just seeing some naked bimbo get killed. You care.......and that's not to say that Michelle strays from the bloodshed and nudity because she doesnt! Instead Michelle gives you all these things but it actually has meaning to them.

 Ok now that I got that outta my system lets move onto the actual film shall we? The first thing youll notice about the Cleaner is that this film is edited and shot so well that youll immediatly forget about any of the usual trappings of a low budget short  and get wrapped up in the story.This film looks and plays like the big boys.....this could easily pass for a large budget film.

 The acting is above average most of the time and there are some really great scenes with the 2 actresses in the shower (not at all what you think....lol). But this is also where I see some flaws with the overall film......the acting ranges from very serious and dramatic to at times somwhat cheesy. I had trouble at times knowing if it was supposed to be cheesy by design or if it just came off badly. I would have loved to see more of her decent into madness after her return from the hospital.

 I think honestly the film would have worked even better if they had focused more on her transition and coming to terms with her obssessive compulsive disorder (as well as having to live with it everyday.) As it would have made more impact with the audience and kept you firmly on the edge throughout the film. This may have been more a matter of budget than anything but at the same time it was like they couldnt decide where to focus.

  But even with it's problems this film is head and shoulders above 99% of the garbage thats coming out off the independent horror scene lately. I would actually like to see what michelle could do with a larger budget and stretching this into a feature length film.

 The effects in the film are perfect as graces choice of weapon tends to lean toward industrial cleaner. The film never tries to do too much with with the effects and as such keeps them simple and quite to the point which gives even more brutality to the kills.

 As it stands though The Cleaner is one of the best horror shorts in recent memory and showcases a womans point of view as well as anything Ive ever seen! If theres one thing I learned from this film it's to never ever fuck over someone with obsessive compulsive disorder.

 In the near future I expect to see alot more women directors tackling the horror genre and now view this with great excitement! A new era of terror is about to be unleashed on the unsuspecting fans of the horror gene and this era will be ushered in by Michelle Fatalle and a bevy of talanted women directors. I for one will await this new era of horror with open arms!

Visit the official myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/thecleanermovie

RATING:

4 out of 5 Severed Heads!