Review: SheBorg

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2019
Images from the Internet

SheBorg (aka SheBorg Massacre)

Written and directed by Daniel Armstrong
Strongman Pictures / Wild Eye Releasing / MVD Visual
90 minutes, 2016 / 2019
www.wildeyereleasing.com
www.mvdvisual.com

As I write this, it is March 8, so what better way to celebrate International Women’s Day than to watch an Aussie film called SheBorg, or as it began life in 2016 before a 2019 release, SheBorg Massacre.



Emma-Louise Wilson

What cult films like Repo Man, Dead Aline, Evil Dead and Dr. Calighari have in common is that they are all silly, but they have a charm, engaging characters, and quotable dialogue. Oh, and they also have two-word titles, but that’s irrelevant. No, what make them special is that they don’t take themselves too seriously, and are extremely fun to watch. I was surprised to find that this film has all those same qualities.

 

In the prologue we are introduced to the titular cyborg (Emma-Louise Wilson) as she escapes from an alien prison ship where people look like the Eloi of The Time Machine and dress like Neo in The Matrix.



Whitney Duff and Daisy Masterman

Back on earth in a small city in Australia, the mayor’s daughter, Dylan (Whitney Duff) and bestie Eddie (Daisy Masterman) are also in a pickle with authority. See, they’re punkers (Dylan dresses more McLaren and Westwood’s SEX than Manic Panic or even Trash & Vaudeville). Joining up with a wanna be rocker, Rik (real life rocker Mark Entwistle, who wrote and performed much of the punkish soundtrack with his real band who perform with him in this film) and scientist/genius/nerd Velma (Louise Monnington), our intrepid heroes head out to the local puppy farm for various reasons, and come in contact with the SheBorg and those she has “turned” into her cyborgish followers. Needless to say, mayhem is the order of the day.

 

This film has it all: extreme blood, extreme fisticuffs, and some dialog that will make you howl, such as the quotable, “Crap my life,” “What the Smeg,” “Chaos will provide,” and the one for which this film has been getting noticed, “This isn't a map! It's a blueprint for a Romulan space vagina!”



Louise Mornington,
Mark Entwistle

Which brings me to a curiosity: there are a lot of references here, mostly to “Star Trek.” For example, the mention of Romulans above and the Prime Directive, Velma wears a Spock tee-shirt, and of course the Borgs. But there’s more than that, such as Velma apparently being based on the character by the same name from “Scooby Doo.” What I wonder about is copyright issues.

If you have any trouble understanding the accent, the film comes with captions which I found very helpful at times, though there was at least one glaring reference error, where Rik mentions “Stalag 13,” from “Hogan’s Heroes” and the caption reads “Scarlet 13.” Rick is a bit older than the other characters, so I’m sure the reference is lost on them (probably part of the point), but obviously that’s true of the captions writer as well. It made me smile.

Another thing that made me go “Hmmm” is that even though they are bitter enemies, there is a personality similarity between the SheBorg and Dylan in that they are both into interrupting culture, though on different levels. The ‘Borg is all about Chaos and its destructiveness, while Dylan is into rich girl pseudo-punk Anarchy, such as graffiti on police cars. It’s just a matter of extremes, but both are destructive in various means, one in an inconvenience way, the other in total destruction and annihilation.

Mainly, though, it’s just goofy sci-fi and horror fun. As I said, I was surprised by just how much I enjoyed this film. It was funny, bloody and so over the top that it wa0s entertaining from one end to another. There’s a lot of fighting, and gore. People are covered with blood though nearly the whole thing. Also, there are some expected kills to rock the viewer out of their complacency. I’m not sure I would say it’s a “solid” film, but it certainly is entertaining.

A good example of this is just by looking at some of the names of the characters, such as Brad Plunderpants, Jo Public, Squeaky Muffins, Jen X, and Constable Nobody Cares.



Gerry Mahoney

The cast is well suited for the parts and certainly give it their all. Despite some of the rough treatment, they do look like they were having fun making it, and luckily that translates to the viewer. This is especially true of the Vet (Gerry Mahoney), who looks like Daryl Hannah’s character in Kill Bill, and steals many of her scenes with her insanity and line reading. (“This is just a momentary inconvenience,” she shouts after being thrown down three storeys)..

 

Also the music is fun in a juvenile punk rock way. The lyrics are silly (as are many in the punk rock field, especially hardcore, e.g., the Circle Jerks, the Dickies), but it moves the story along, and with the captions, makes it easy to make out what’s being sung (if it’s accurate).

There are only two extras, being the 18-minute “Chaos Provides: The Making of SheBorg Massacre” and a music video of "Puppy Farm” by the fake/real band in the film. “The Making of includes behind the scenes shooting and interviews with much of the key cast and crew. Oh, and Wilson is hysterical in it (and you get to see what she looks like sans Borg make-up.

The main point is that this is a silly and enormously enjoyable exercise in lunacy and extremity. Aussies are known for that with the likes of Road Warrior and the early films of Peter Jackson. This has been one of my favorite films so far this year, as nonsensical as it was. I can’t really explain it other than to note that after some serious exercises in horror, it’s nice to see some humorous fun that works, even when it doesn’t always make sense.