Goddess of Love (2015)
Starring Alexis Kendra, Woody Naismith, Elizabeth Sandy
Directed by Jon Knautz
See her as a damaged individual, or see her as a gal that’s very unlucky in love, but seeing the two elements slammed together at a high rate of speed, with just the right amounts of booze and drugs added as a supplemental medication, and we’ve got a sure-fire recipe for a woman who would probably make Glenn Close’s character pee just a little bit in Jon Knautz’s Goddess of Love. Poised to make its debut at FrightFest UK, this one is sure to turn some heads.
Alexis Kendra stars (and equally shines) as Venus, an absolute knockout of a woman who spends her days cooped up in her apartment, playing piano, drinking copious amounts of wine, and hitting the peace pipe when distractions enter her mind; and it’s a mind that isn’t quite on the fast track to sanity. Her nights are spent peeling off her pasties and teetering in heels while grinding on some horny fellas for cash at the local strip club. One night, while completely ignoring rule #1 for an exotic dancer (NO outside interaction with customers), she meets a suave Aussie named Brian (Naismith), who sweeps her off of her stilettos, all the while still hung up on the death of his wife after she killed herself in the bathtub.
Her better judgment gets overthrown by her skewered thought patterns, and the two are soon doing the horizontal mambo back at her apartment, and BOOM! Venus is in love… Houston, we’ve got a problem. After a short while, Brian decides his mind still isn’t in the right place following his wife’s suicide, and he calls the relationship off – even bigger problem.
This sets off a volatile chain reaction of events that must be seen, and I’d seriously be doing this excellently crafted thriller a disservice if I spilled any more details, but rest assured that Venus goes above and beyond the levels of rational action here. With a dizzying array of nightmarish visions and actions, Knautz puts insanity on a silver platter and leaves it in the hands of the audience as to how to correctly view Venus and her delicate psyche. Mental disorders are certainly nothing to sneeze at, and the severity of Kendra’s character is definitely on a sliding scale – at times she’s docile and reclusive, and there are instances of blind rage and complete disassociation from her own mind. I can point to one specific point in the film when Venus looks at Brian after he’s delivered the crushing message of a break-up – the woman’s eyes alone convey a complete severance of sanity, and I honestly got the chills as if she was looking right through me – CHILLING STUFF.
As the movie rolls along, the line between reality and fantasy is severely distorted, and you, the viewer, are left to sift through the rubble that is Venus’ shattered perception.
Overall, I absolutely recommend this one to viewers – but don’t look at it as a horror film or even a thriller for that matter. This is a study in how far the mind can be frayed and the frightening after effects of an otherwise depressing situation overcoming someone. The only caveat I could offer would be to NOT have this playing while you’re on a first or second date… or if you’re planning on a break-up.
-
Film
Categorized:Reviews
