31 Horror Movies in 31 Days: Cut

Cut (2000)

Directed by Kimble Rendall

Starring Molly Ringwald, Kylie Minogue, Tiriel Mora

Australian horror movie Hot Blooded experienced a few legendary production problems. The actor playing the film’s killer, Scar Man, was publicly humiliated by the director. Experiencing a psychotic episode, the leading man murdered the director with the same pair of modified garden sheers Scar Man used in the film. His co-star, a young American actress, killed him before the rampage could continue. Now, the only known prints of Hot Blooded are said to be haunted. A group of film students have ignored the warnings and the stories about the people who tried to finish the movie. They’re dead set on finishing Hot Blooded, and they’ve even convinced the former leading lady to appear in their additional shots. So a bunch of college kids go to a remote filming location with a cursed print of film thoroughly convinced nothing bad could ever happen.

You know a movie is bad when its 82 minute runtime feels interminable. Cut tries to be a meta commentary and homage to 80s slasher movies but fails to be any fun. The kills are gory, the story is all about putting annoying characters in bad situations, and the killer is kind of interesting. Unfortunately none of that matters when the script is dumb, the characters aren’t entertaining, and the novelty of seeing Molly Ringwald wears off.

The special effects are mostly decent, making them the only enjoyable part of Cut. The kills are in true 80s slasher form. They’re gross and painful while aiming for a sense of sick satisfaction. The giant, gnarly garden sheers make for an interesting signature weapon and adds a unique visual spin on every kill. They’re not the greatest effects in the world, but they are probably the best part of this movie.

The cast has two notable surprises and a bunch of people who aren’t that good. The surprises come in pop singer Kylie Minogue and John Hughes muse Molly Ringwald. Minogue doesn’t necessarily do anything bad; it’s just a surprise to see her in a very brief role in a slasher flick. Ringwald on the other hand has a substantial part where she seems to enjoy chewing scenery as a stuck up, washed up movie star. The rest of the cast manages to get through their lines without many hints of emotion, nuance, or humor.

Cut has a cool premise for a killer that was done slightly better in 2008’s Midnight Movie. So if you want to see a slasher flick centered on cursed film, see that movie. If you want to see Molly Ringwald slum it in an Australian horror comedy that manages to be neither scary nor funny, perhaps you should reevaluate what you want from your entertainment.

2 out of 10