’61: Scorecard Killer’ Review (Tetrovideo)
Stars: Roberto Scorza, Alex D’Alascio, Daniele Arturi | Written and Directed by Poison Rouge, Domiziano Cristopharo
Taking its title from the 61 names found in a notebook when he was arrested, 61: Scorecard Killer is based rather loosely on the crimes of Randy Kraft. Kraft was convicted of the rape and murder of sixteen young men and is suspected of fifty-one other killings. Kraft was arrested in 1983 after police pulled him over for a suspected DUI and found a dead body in his car’s passenger seat.
The biggest difference between fact and fiction is that directors Poison Rouge (American Guinea Pig: Sacrifice, 7 Sins) and Domiziano Cristopharo (Confessions of a Necrophile Girl, Tales to Tell in the Dark) have updated the film to the present day. We see this right away in the prelude, as Randy (Roberto Scorza; What Have You Done, Daniel?, Rime), uses his smartphone to print out photos of murder victims to post on his wall and dance naked in front of.
And this is as good a time as any to mention if you have a phobia of seeing peen on your screen, you’ll want to avoid 61: Scorecard Killer. Of course, if you’re familiar with either directors, you know that already.
The story itself begins with Randy cruising the dark streets and picking up a male prostitute (Alex D’Alascio; XXX Dark Web, Eilotai), whose head he beats against the car’s dashboard and tying him up while he’s unconscious. The rest of the film depicts his torturing and killing his victim. There are also cutaways to Randy apparently writing in a journal and his victim’s hallucinations involving aliens and demons.
Or at least I think that’s what they are. Unfortunately, TetroVideo hooked me up with a screener that’s in Italian with no subtitles, so I had no idea what was going in those scenes. Granted, there is very little dialogue in 61: Scorecard Killer, most of it is simply the killer going about his business, but I would assume what there is has some importance.
Taken on a strictly visual level, 61: Scorecard Killer is an hour’s worth of very painful-looking torture and mutilation. The effects are, as usual with Cristopharo’s films, uncomfortably realistic and often filmed in unflinching close-ups. It’s the kind of extreme filmmaking that’s meant to make the viewer squirm, and it frequently does. The short running time helps offset the lack of anything that could be called a plot, or at least one that I could determine with understanding the dialogue.
Given how little dialogue there is I really can’t imagine there could be much of a plot and as a result 61: Scorecard Killer will appeal most to those who are watching just for the shock value. Others may enjoy it as an exercise in atmospheric nighttime cinematography and practical effects. I have a feeling, though, that it would have been a lot more enjoyable with whatever context those few lines of dialogue provided.
*** 3/5
61: Scorecard Killer will be available later this month from TetroVideo. You can check their Facebook page or website for more information.
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