Amateur Porn Star Killer (2004)

Written and Directed by Shane Ryan
Starring Michiko Jimenez and Shane Ryan (uncredited)
71 minutes/2004
www.alteregocinema.com

This movie, like any others, has its flaws; it has poor audio, strange superimpositions from one shot onto another, grainy, black and white footage, and the longest intro in film history before the title flashes onscreen. However, as low budget and offensive as scenes of this movie are (it's borderline pornography) it has something that many low budget films don't: style, and a way of riveting the viewer despite the low production value. Of course, 'found video footage' indie films are about a dime a dozen now, ever since Blair Witch set the standard for what constitutes documentary-style filmmaking, but Amateur Porn Star Killer stays away from the camp and the blood and goes for where it really counts; the acting and the terribly disturbing subject matter.

The unofficial story of a killer who kidnaps and kills three girls is told through the tale of his last victim, Amateur Porn Star Killer is about a girl he picks up on the street and convinces to go back to his hotel room. The girl, played by Michiko Jimenez, is shy, unnerved, and yet unable to take herself out of a bad situation. Shane Ryan himself is the killer, a guy who seems at first nothing more than your standard, 18 year old pervert with a penchant for filming his sexual escapades. What unravels is a story far darker, unsettling, and downright mesmerizing that what originally presents itself in the first few minutes of the story.

With what initially seems like gratuitous erotica, Ryan delivers a tale of perversion that actually ends up being anything but a turn-on. The way the killer systematically stalks, seduces, and breaks down the girl's defenses with only words provides us with a villain who doesn't need a weapon to force women into bed. In fact, the tagline of the movie, 'But he looked like a really nice guy' speaks volumes. He does, indeed, like Bundy, look like a really nice guy. He's fairly witty, handsome, and unthreatening as far as men go. That's why Stacy decided to take a ride with him in the first place. From simple, innocent home-video style fun to actual sex, Stacy gets far more than she bargained for. Even his choice of weapon when he attempts to hurt Stacy is not the standard gun, knife, chainsaw, or buzz saw so overused in horror movies. No cheap thrills here; you'll have to get your kicks from the storyline and dialogue itself.

Choppy first-person scenes are interspersed with a smaller, porn camera in the bottom left of the screen for much of the movie, showing one girl, happy to be having sex with the killer (perhaps one of his earlier victims?) contrasted with the desperately uncomfortable Stacy on the main screen. The long, drawn out improv scenes that at first seem endless actually draw you in in an indescribably fascinating way; Ryan begins to make you care about and understand the characters on screen. Their constant one-on-one interaction for the duration of the film is amazingly believable, and Jimenez's ability to play a young, inexperienced girl struggling with her own instincts takes the film up one step from low budget b-flick to low budget independent character study.

This story is about voyeurism. It hints at the victimization of women in the porn industry by presenting sex through intimidation and pressure in front of a camera. Ryan isn't afraid to show real nudity and real sexual acts, not so much as unwarranted exploitation, but as a reality check for the audience. This very dark and destructive view of sex, however, supercedes the main storyline of a serial killer. When the end of the film arrives, it's almost possible to forget that there were other victims, and that the footage is supposed to be 'found evidence'. The intense relationship created between Stacy and the Killer overshadows these plot points, centering the story more on intimidation, perversion, and fear.