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Kiss Me, Kill Me DVD review

Kiss Me, Kill Me
Credit: Embrem Entertainment

During a birthday party for his boyfriend Stephen (Gale Harold), Dusty (Van Hansis) becomes jealous when Stephenā€™s former flame Craigery (Matthew Ludwinski) shows up. The lovers get into an argument, which they take from the party and into a convenience store. During the row, Dusty blacks out and when he awakens in hospital, heā€™s the prime suspect in Stephenā€™s murder. Surrounded by friends, and under suspicion from the police, Dusty tries to piece together the events of that night to find out who really killed his boyfriend.

Kiss Me, Kill Me is the latest movie from director Casper Andreas and it features a screenplay by David Michael Barrett. The first thing I should tell you is that if youā€™re watching it for Gale Harold, then heā€™s barely in the movie past the opening minutes. Instead the film spends plenty of time with Van Hansisā€™ Dusty and the colourful group of people he surrounds himself with including best friend Amanda (Brianna Brown), psychiatrist Jeffrey (Craig Robert Young) and admirer Travis (Kit Williamson).

At its heart Kiss Me, Kill Me wants to be a film-noir style thriller but it never manages to pull it off. This is in part due to the predictable way that the film unfolds but mostly to the poor screenplay that doesnā€™t give any of the actors any material to sink their teeth into. What also doesnā€™t help is the widely varying acting abilities of the cast. The best of the bunch are Gale Harold, Brianna Brown and Kit Williamson, all of whom have a long and successful TV history under their belts. Sadly all three are drastically under-used and Brown is the most poorly serviced of the trio.

Kiss Me, Kill Me
Credit: Embrem Entertainment

One of the problems with Kiss Me, Kill Me (aside from some of the acting from the leads), is that its tone is all over the place. Itā€™s never dark enough to be the kind of film it wants to be but itā€™s not fun enough to be a comedy-drama either. The tone lands awkwardly in the middle and never really finds its rightful place. The final revelation is easy to spot (Iā€™d say from the first half hour of the film) so when it does come around itā€™s less a surprise than a ā€˜oh thatā€™s who did itā€™ moment.

Having been a fan of Casper Andreasā€™ previous films such as The Big Gay Musical and Going Down in LA-LA Land, I was really disappointed by Kiss Me, Kill Me. The film had the scope to be a campy thriller but it ends up being an underwhelming affair that long outstays its welcome. Thereā€™s a lot of promise here but sadly itā€™s poorly executed and misses its opportunity.

[brid video=”82958″ player=”531″ title=”Kiss Me Kill Me Official Trailer (2016) Van Hansis Gale Harold HD”]

 

Cast: Gale Harold, Van Hansis, Craig Robert Young, Brianna Brown, Yolanda Ross, Jai Rodriguez, Kit Williams, Mathew Ludwinski Director: Casper Andreas Writer: David Michael Barrett Duration: 100 mins Released By: Embrem Entertainment Release Date: 7th December 2016

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

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