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Julia X (2011)

 

Everyone once in a while a genre movie comes out of nowhere and slaps you right in the face, leaving you wondering how, as a genre fan, you have never even heard of it before. Julia X is exactly that kind of a film. Not only is it a really well-made, wildly entertaining, crazy fun ride, but it also shows that imaginative 3D in movies is far from dead.

Director P.J. Petiette’s debut feature starts out as a generic take on your typical Craiglist killer. Julia (Valerie Azlynn) is frustrated with men in her life and turns to the internet to find the perfect match for her. Just as she seems to have struck gold with her newest find (played by Kevin Sorbo), she finds herself being rendered unconscious, dragged to his (typically dark) place and branded with an “X” on her rear. Sorbo’s unnamed antagonist (or is he?) is a charismatic Ted Bundy who has his own ideas of a perfect date and an unhealthy obsession with Karen Carpenter’s songs. Before things can advance any further, however, Julia’s little sister Jessica (Alicia Leigh Willis) appears. She saves the day and the tables are turned. This is when the real fun begins. Turns out that Julia and Jessica harbour more than a small secret.

To tell any more of the plot would be a shame as it’d deprive the viewer of being shocked at this film’s various turns that follow the seemingly generic beginning. Let’s just say that Julia and Sorbo’s lovably deranged killer are a match made in hell.

The movie in its basic frame is somewhat reminiscent of last year’s Australian date-horror flick The Loved Ones. However, whereas The Loved Ones remained a mostly serious movie with just some evil dark humor interjected every now and then (despite the marketing suggesting otherwise), Julia X is darkly humorous through and through. That’s the film’s primary strength along with its great three main characters. In particular Kevin Sorbo astonishes. I don’t think anyone, including myself, has ever though that the guy who starred in “Hercules” and the Walking Tall direct-to-DVD sequels had a role like this in him. But he really does, making it hard to imagine anyone else in the part. An absolutely insane nutcase with a constant smile on his lips, Sorbo remains charming all the way through, even with the viewer knowing about his nature. He’s the true gentleman killer and the crazier and more hurtful (for him) the proceedings get, the more he seems to be enjoying them. While there are not many dimensions or much depth to his character, it is still not an easy part to pull off and he does it splendidly. I hope this won’t be the last time we’ll see Sorbo playing a villain. However, the whole thing wouldn’t work as well if he didn’t have the female character to be his match and Azlynn’s is definitely up to par. Her Julia is sexy, manic and full of energy as she keeps facing Sorbo’s killer over and over. There’s a major scene between the two towards the end of the film that is so gleefully deranged and funny that I dare you to name anything that comes close in recent horror cinema. The pairing and the great chemistry between the two probably makes Julia X the first romantic torture horror movie ever made.

To spice things up, Alicia Leigh Willis as Julia’s young sister delivers an even more insane character than those played by Azlynn and Sorbo. Her capricious Lolita-like character keeps shifting between innocence and madness. To contrast the utter insanity of the film’s three main characters, Joel David Moore’s straight man is brought into the film about halfway through. The scene with him and Sorbo in the kitchen belongs to one of the film’s highlights as well. There’s also an amusing cameo at the film’s ending that shall not be spoiled here either.

Speaking of the ending – that was the only part of the film that could have been improved. The film looks to be on course towards a certain finish and the rug is pulled from underneath the viewers again and things are changed. This is truly a movie that I wished to have a happy ending and while its actual wrap-up is interesting and, in the tone of the entire film, ruthless, I would have preferred a different one. If you think that I have spoiled something by saying this – trust me, I didn’t. For that, the movie is just too warped and twisted.

Last but not least, a few words on one of the film’s selling points – the 3D. Over the past months industry observers have witnessed a decline of interest in 3D movies. While it is still a profitable feature, the heights seem to be over. The reason for that is not just the premium that the moviegoers have to pay for 3D, but also the lackluster quality of 3D that the audiences often encounter in the films. I’m glad to report that Julia X doesn’t belong in that category and that 3D is actually used with consideration and to good effect here as it actually enhances the movie’s wild ride. In other words: if there’s an option to pick between the two formats this time, go for the three-dimensional one!

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