Kill For Me (2013) Horror Movie Review

By Melissa Antoinette Garza

I was perusing the new selections in a nearby Redbox and came across Kill for Me (2013). I had never heard of it before, but the synopsis intrigued me.

The movie opens with college student Amanda (Katie Cassidy) and her roommate Zoe (Shannon Chan-Kent) coming to terms with the difficult decision that they need to replace their roommate.  Their ex-roomie Natalie (Leah Gibson) disappeared one night after work without a trace and was never heard from again.  Everyone fears the worst and despite the girls canvasing for information, their search comes up empty.

As expenses mount, the girls find themselves in jeopardy of losing their apartment.  The duo searches for an adequate roomie who they can trust and who can mitigate the cost of rent and living expenses.  They decide on Hayley (Tracy Spiridakos), a first year Animal Science major.

Amanda and Hayley have more in common than simply being attractive co-eds.  Under the surface, both have dealt with a fair share of pain and turmoil in their lives.  Hayley’s awful past revolves around her father Garrett (Donal Logue).   One night, as Hayley was sleeping, Amanda saw the scars on her shoulders and back.  It was clear something had happened to her.  When Hayley returns home to pick up a box that was given to her by her mother, Garrett is there and the two obviously have a strained relationship.  She flinches every time he gets close making it seems as though it was he who inflicted her injuries.

Amanda, on the other hand, had been made miserable by Cameron (Terrance Combs), her abusive ex-boyfriend.  Amanda finally got the nerve to leave him.  The night of Natalie’s disappearance, he was at the place she was seen last.  Amanda suspects he had something to do with it, and as his violence escalated she knew she had to get out.  Despite their affair being over, Cameron keeps showing up and tries relentlessly to force Amanda to take him back.  When she refuses, he basically forces himself on her until Hayley comes to the rescue.  The two women pummel him until he leaves, but both gals end up with a few scratches.  They go inside to the bathroom to clean themselves up and things get hot and heavy.

Cassidy and Spirdakos have amazing chemistry and their sex scene is extremely hot.  Too often sex scenes are filmed in a very masculine style which is a complete turn-off.  Even when the characters have chemistry, the scene is ruined because of the approach taken.  I’ve even seen movies where the characters are lesbians, but the filmmakers insist on depicting it the way men imagine it in their fantasies rather than explore the femininity of two beautiful women coming together.

Disclosure (1994) is definitely one of the worst offenders.  I remember Demi Moore was forcing herself on Michael Douglas and the whole scene just grossed me out.  It was certainly going for a ‘sexy’ angle but failed miserably.  Moore was on her knees and offering oral sex, but the whole thing was just nasty.

The same was true for the movie Unfaithful (2002). The sex scenes were so explicit and overdone that they were not only tasteless but boring.  I wasn’t swept away with it at all.

I love the scenes that make my heart skip a beat and my inside voice chant “kiss!!!”  I love the sensuality and lust filled kisses between two people that share such chemistry.  Here it was very present and I liked it so much that perhaps I’ll buy the movie.

Throughout the first 45 minutes, it’s nearly impossible not to cheer for this couple as they both seemingly have such a horrid past. One can’t help but hope they find peace and safety with one another.

Of course, nothing is as it seems and after a questionable accident that leaves Cameron dead, Hayley asks for a favor in return.  She wants Amanda to kill her father.  At first she refuses, but after some coercion and blackmail, she finally agrees.

I’ve always been interested in movies surrounding domestic violence, especially when the woman either seeks revenge or regains control of her life.  I’ve seen them all.  Ever since I was a kid, I reveled in Sunday afternoon features like The Burning Bed, (1984) Enough (2002), Sleeping with the Enemy (1991), Intimate Strangers (1977), – the list goes on and on.

The story of the meek and mild finding the strength to fight back and defeat the perpetrator is always uplifting.  Of course, some didn’t end like that.  Movies like No One Would Tell (1996) and the documentary Crazy Love (2007) tell much sadder and more disturbing stories.  The latter is especially alarming as it tells the tale about a psychotic douchebag, who douses his ex-girlfriend with acid.  Later, her “friends” and an actual police officer encourage her to date him as they think no one else will have her.  As she had been dumped by her former fiancé after revealing her scars, she succumbed to the psycho’s advances and the two have been married ever since.  That documentary makes me physically ill.  Both the turn of events themselves and the way the movie often set a tone of romanticizing the crime and aftermath.  Nonetheless, like some are drawn to train wrecks, I’m certainly captivated by domestic violence and the survival instincts that take control when the beaten is eventually pushed too far.

This is a new breed of this type of film.  Several aspects make the film unique.  Neither woman ever shows real signs of weakness.  They both continuously stand up to their abusers.  Part of this is because the movie opens once they have already had enough but still it was a different approach and most definitely a welcome one.  It’s refreshing to see women who are not the stereotypical victims we see in movies.    We don’t see them walk on eggshells to appease the abusers or believe the violence to be their fault.  They put the blame where it belongs and seemingly have a good amount of self-esteem despite what happened to them.

This method just reinforces that the problem is with the criminal and not those who were victimized.  I love movies like Enough but when analyzing the film there is a disturbing message which relayed the woman needed to change and become stronger to defeat the abuser.  The woman needed to go through the transition with the help of a man to beat the man.  I’m not saying that situations like that don’t exist, but simply that movies typically only show that situation.  The women who are already strong, levelheaded and can fight back are rarely shown.  It was refreshing to see that here.  These women were ready and able to attack and beat the living hell out of Cameron when he attempted to strike.

I also like how they didn’t romanticize the abuse in anyway.  We weren’t subjected to flashbacks of sweet moments between Amanda and Cameron.  Cameron was simply one-dimensional, and at times that is really necessary.  The last thing anyone should try to do is invoke sympathy for the victimizer.  They should always be cast in the role of villain without any hope or hint of redemption.  The falsehood that a good woman can change a violent man has convinced too many people to stay with batterers.

I remember years ago, when I worked for Blockbuster Video as one of the supervisors.  We were always provided floor maps that designated where items and movies were supposed to go.  It was February and we were making a wall filled with romantic titles for Valentine’s Day.  Among the movies I was supposed to put up was the Tina Turner story What’s Love Got to Do with it (1993). I remember refusing to do so and getting into a war of words with my manager.  I ended up calling the District Leader and the corporate number.  When I mentioned that I thought female patrons would be interested to know Blockbuster’s idea on romance, they ended up pulling the movie from all of the maps.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  I love the Tina Turner story, but that was the wrong place to put it.  If Blockbuster ever had a section for strong women (which they didn’t) that would certainly be on my list of movies to pick.

The acting is well above par in the movie.  Katie Cassidy, daughter of the famous teen idol David Cassidy, did a great job!  I always loved David Cassidy.  I still own tons of his personal music.  Songs like, I’ll meet you Halfway, Could it Be Forever, I Woke up in Love This Morning, and of course I Think I Love You are still ones I rock out too.  I grew up loving him.  I loved The Partridge Family and his movie Spirit of ‘76.

I’m happy to report that it appears Katie is more than just a superstar’s child.  She actually has a great deal of talent.

She has come a long way since the 2006 remake of Black Christmas. I have rarely been so angry about a movie.  I had loved the original and the new was one of the worst movies I had ever seen.  Next, I saw her in the reimagining of Nightmare on Elm St. She did well there.  I thought it was a pretty decent film.  Though I will always prefer Robert Englund in the Freddy Krueger role, I was impressed with the overall production and Cassidy’s acting.

That brings her to the present, and I’m happy to say she has gained leaps and bounds!

Tracy Spiridakos also did fantastic in her role.  I was immediately drawn to her character.

I was happy to see Donal Logue who really sold both sides and facets of his character.  He was always believable and played Garrett in a toned down fashion that made every word seemingly have merit or at least make sense.  This was such a change from what I am accustomed to seeing Logue in.  I was an avid fan of Grounded for Life (2001) where he was the sweet and sometimes obnoxious loving father and husband.  Still, he portrayed Garrett with so much confidence and he never lost the essence of the character.  When Garrett is called into question and the audience is left with whom to believe, both Spiridakos and Logue perfect the art of having their characters keeping emotions hidden.

Real motives and answers to all of the questions within the film are answered at the end. Well mostly.  In the first fifteen minutes, Zoe disappears and never reemerges so I do wonder where she went.   Nonetheless, all the important questions and all of those that the viewers are supposed to ask are answered.

I honestly can’t recommend this enough.  Everything about this film is done correctly.  It was refreshing to see that the writers and director were men as they wrote for the female characters so well and in a realistic fashion, especially when considering how over the top some of the scenes were.  Nothing was done with even  hint of apparent irony which I thought was a brave and wise choice.

Scared Stiff Rating:  8.5/10