Review: Attack of the 50 Foot Camgirl

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2023
Images from the Internet

Attack of the 50-Foot Woman (1958)

Film one of three giantess reviews in a series: This and Giantess Battle Attack are a franchise. Giant women, for some men, is a fetish (macrophilia), as is watching women physically fight each other (catfight), and are something I will never really understand, though both are combined in all of these below. But whatever. Of course, giant women films have been around for a while, with the grandmother of all being Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1958), but was revived with the likes of Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman (1993) Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), and Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012).I do not believe there is any doubt that these films are absurdist comedies, thankfully going for the lowest bar and the biggest busts.

Attack of the 50 Foot Camgirl

Directed by Jim Wynorski
Full Moon Entertainment; MVD Visual
61 minutes, 2022
www.FullMoonDirect.com
www.MVDVisual.com

The titular protagonist in this film is egocentric and narcissistic (is that redundant?) super successful social media influencer, probably on sites like OnlyFan, Beverly Wood (newcomer Ivy Smith). She is nasty and will not listen to advice, thinking she knows best at all times: “I’m a self-made visionary,” she states early on. Obviously, the name is a mix of Beverly Hills and Hollywood. The other two main characters are her husband, Bradley (naturally tall Eli Cirino) and their jealous assistant, Fuschia [sic] (Christine Nguyen, aka adult star Jennifer Lee), who wants to replace Beverly.

Ivy Smith, Eli Cirino

We basically meet Beverly as she is filmed taking a shower (naked) while being filmed and endorsing some product. The power structure of the three comes into play pretty quickly, as this is not a long film, and obviously they want to get over the exposition quickly so they can jump to the giantess aspect.

Of course, as I have stated earlier, this is a – er – broad comedy, some of it pretty subtle, such as Beverly referring to sex as “getting unfiltered with you,” and hashtags appearing occasionally as subtitles, e.g., “#sad” appearing to express her emotion.

And how does she get to go from influencer to giantess? Thanks to untested experimental grown-in-the-lab “Unholy Meat-ramony,” supplied by a trio of scientists: Dr. Lana Rhodes (Lisa London, a regular in films from CineRidge Entertainment, such as Love Crime in 2022, and The Wrong Sarah in 2021), Dennis (Frankie Cullen), and Gary (scene stealer Jaret Sacrey). The Bevster eats the food – despite being warned – and achieves the film’s title.

Because of the ridiculousness of the story (not meant as a dis), there is a lot that needs to be just accepted, such as everyone not freaking out about Beverly’s new – er – stature; though I am happy to say that they explain her clothing, rather than doing a “Gilligan’s Island” wardrobe mystery.

I laughed out loud (#lol) when Beverly destroys a billboard with a Full Moon theme (blink and you will miss it). And then, what happens when, in a jealous fit, Fuschia eats some of the GMO food stuff and grows to meet Beverly’s height? Of course, girl fight. Why is it when giantesses fight, they do it in slo mo?

Christine Nguyen, Smith

I liked that there is a couple of references to the original Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. That was a nice homage, but you would have to have seen the original to get it (I grew up watching it on “Chiller Theater” on WPIX in New York).

There is some nice use of both CGI (naturally), and some really fine model making (by Jeff Leroy, the director of 2022’s Giantess Attack vs. Mega-Fembot) for the buildings being destroyed, though obviously shells.

The extras are the Full Moon staple “Videozone” (7 min),where Wynorski, Ivy, and Full Moon’s Charles Band sit around the set’s pool and discuss the movie, filmed before the release because they were still unsure if it was going to be 50 feet or 60 feet. The “Behind the Scenes” (6 min) featurette is separate interviews with the three leads, a couple of backstage shots, and mostly clips from the film. Also included is the trailer for Wynorski/Full Moon’s film Bigfoot or Bust (2022), a cleavage extravaganza of big busted alien women in search of said Sasquatch. There are also a number of other Full Moon trailers.

IMDB listing HERE

Review: 2LDK

Text © Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films, 2022
Images from the Internet

2LDK
Directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi
DUEL Film Partners; Micott; Times In; Office Crescendo; Unearthed Films; MVD Entertainment
70 minutes, 2003 / 2022
www.unearthedfilms.com
www.MVDentertainment.com  

I am pretty sure when you see the title of this Japan-made release, you might be scratching your head, unless you are into real estate. It is shorthand for 2 Bedrooms, Living room, Dining room, Kitchen. And that is where the story takes place, in a Tokyo condominium. But this Blu-ray is on the Unearthed Films label, so you know things are going to get complicated and bloody within those four walls.

Eiko Kolke, Maho Nonami

Living within those rooms are two ambitious actors: there is Nozomi (Eiko Kolke) who has a history in local theater, commercials and print modeling, and redheaded Rana (Maho Nonami), a film buff who likes expensive things, and is on the verge of a breakdown. The chief contention, for the purposes of this, is that they are both up for the same part in something called “Yakuza Wives.”

Smartly presented, we see the two women’s relationships on various levels.  First, there is the almost passive aggressive quality as they are polite to each other with little, subtle digs. But here’s where it gets interesting: we also hear their inner thoughts, and neither one of them has anything nice to say about the other. They are petty and determined, and anger is simmering as both are convinced that they are the ones who will get the part.

Yet, there is another contention between the two, and that is vying for the attention of the same man, Takuya Ezaki (Daisuke Kizaki; who does all the phone voices), who is only heard on voicemail. All the onscreen time is with just the duo of Nozomi and Rana.

Things begin to ramp up pretty early as pettiness and jealousy seep ever deeper into the psyche of the two women, as well as a dose of vanity. While Nozomi is a bit of a control freak along the lines of Felix Unger (she initials all the food, both her’s and Rana’s), and Rana is a touch schizophrenic, hearing voices and seeing horrible visions of a past event. The internal rancor that we hear in their inner monologue slowly but surely start to come out in the verbal, building the tension further. And the viewer just knows it can only get worse.

And it does. Taking place all in one night, things escalate to the extreme, with household objects being used to do damage to each other, including decorative swords called Jyuttes, a fire extinguisher, a mini-chainsaw, electrocution, and lots of fisticuffs, among others.

The level of violence goes a bit beyond reality, but is mostly relentless (with some lulls for psychotic conversations or primal screams). Both are surprising in the levels to which they will go to punish the other. Of course, this makes it all the more fun for the viewer. Neither of these women are likeable though both are beautiful, at least at the start. The O. Henry-eque ending is completely fitting for the film.

The film is well shot, employing wise moves to both keep it claustrophobic and seeming like they are as far apart as their personalities. There is even a scene where our two pro-ant-agonists are sitting at a table, and as Rana talks (and Nozomi think-comments), the camera circularly swirls around the table, a style used by Tarantino a few years later in Deathproof in 2007.

Both actors in the film are well seasoned, both before and after this film. They worked extensively in cinema, but mostly appeared – often as regulars – in numerous Japanese television mini-series over the years.  This shows in their performances here, which relies a lot on the range of keeping everything inside to exploding on the outside.

There are a ton of extras on this Blu-ray, though I’m not sure how many are new and which are older. For example, there is a full-length commentary by the two actors that was recorded two years after the filming, so that would be about 2005. It is in Japanese with subtitles. It is amusing that they both snuck out from the same film shoot to come record this commentary. The two women don’t get very deep, but what is interesting is their discussions of the likeability (or lack thereof) of their characters, and almost blow-by-blow of what was happening to them as actors playing those characters as it appears on the screen. They talk about how hard a particular move was, what the cameraman was doing, their level of the flu they had caught, etc.

“The Making of 2LDK” chronicles the 8-day shoot, which was done chronologically. This is a featurette handled professionally to be used for publicity, not just cobbled-together scenes. It is shown day-by-day, and includes interviews, behind the camera scenes of table readings and the like, and is interesting throughout. For the “Duel Production Briefing” is a video of the director talking to his production crew. For festivals, there is a “Video Message for Theatre Audiences,” “Tokyo International Fantastic Film Festival Interviews,” and the “Screening at Kudan Kaikan Interviews.”

Along with a “Photo Gallery,” there is a collection of Unearthed Film trailers, including this one, and four other international releases, such as Evil Dead Trap and A Serbian Film. 

While a pretty simple storyline, the film is also a complex mixture of the physical and psychological, both focusing on Rana and Nozomi together, and individually. Rather than two trains passing in the night, they are on a single track, barreling full speed to a head-on collision. And the result is both disturbing and bloody. Right the way it should be, after all.

IMBD Listing HERE