‘Bad Girl Boogey’ Review
Stars: Lisa Fanto, Iris Mcerlean, Prudence Cassar, Steven Nguyen, Toshiro Glenn, Lewi Dawson, Georgie Cufone, Em Bleby, Mark Fantasia, Patty Glavieux | Written by Alice Maio Mackay, Benjamin Pahl Robinson | Directed by Alice Maio Mackay
Showcasing different time periods connected by a creepy mask which brings out the worst in people, co-writer/director Alice Maio Mackay uses her sophomore feature to show the venomous bigotry resonating across the changing years. Sixteen years after the last killings, close friends Angel (Lisa Fanto) and Dario (Iris Mcerlean) are thrown into a nightmare situation when their friend is the next victim. It is up to the pair to overcome their personal struggles and fight their fear before the masked killer slaughters everyone dear to them.
What’s key to Bad Girl Boogey are the firm friendships within the group, looking out for each other regarding addiction issues, self-harming, and age-inappropriate relationships. This is particularly true for Angel, for whom the group has been a rock while grappling with trauma and an unsupportive family. Worsening matters are the increasingly distressing circumstances, as the rising body-count links back to Angel’s distressing past and leaves the protagonist to rage at the world. While more characterization is needed in some regards, it does not detract from the relationships that are easy to get behind.
Breathing life into the proceedings is Mackay’s stylish direction, utilizing an engrossing vision to capture this Australian neo-slasher co-written by Benjamin Pahl Robinson. Despite being rough around the edges in some places, the ambition on show heralds promise for the director and may inspire further filmmakers to follow in her teenage footsteps. Aiding the scenes is Alexander Taylor’s music which, despite some overbearing montages, is effectively utilised to capture the teenage character’s mindset. While there are notable contrivances within the story, the various time periods connect in ways that effectively tie matters up.
Slashing their way through the 80-minute runtime, the killer is identified by the parasitic mask cursed with black magic and bigotry. There is no convoluted reasoning behind the killings, with the simplicity, unfortunately, resonating in this world where transphobic rhetoric is a regular occurrence through clickbait headlines and pathetic scaremongering. This is part of how Mackay approaches LGBTQ+ struggles through a resonant allegory, sticking two middle fingers up in defiance of the perpetrators of such hateful ideals while declaring how such small-minded hatred cannot keep the queer community down. What remains is a great work which promises a bright future for Mackay.
***½ 3.5/5
Bad Girl Boogey will release on digital platforms in the US on July 4 and DVD release on July 11th. Select US theatres will also screen the film from July 7th.
