Review: Model Hunger
By William Pattison, aka Eric Morse
For Horror Bob's Blog
Well, this time I get to review the
first directorial by my dear friend and the queen of all scream queens, Debbie
Rochon. The film is titled Model Hunger and it is a quirky horror film that
takes on the subject of the prejudice in the modeling and entertainment
industry in general about female age and body size.
Model Hunger tells the story of
Ginny (played to perfection by veteran actress Lynn Lowry), an elderly former
model and actress who was cast aside as a young woman due to her body type.
Ginny is now a broken woman who has over the years garnered a hatred and need
for revenge on the thin young women who cost her her career. So, now when she
encounters young pretty women she lures them into her house, kills them, and
eats them. Now, come on the scene Ginny’s new neighbor Debbie (played by scream
queen Tiffany Shepis). Debbie is a disturbed woman who starts to wonder about
her neighbor’s activities. Debbie’s husband Sal, disregards her suspicions and
ends up losing his life over it when Ginny sends over a little drugged treat
for Debbie and Sal ends up eating it. After that things build to a final
confrontation that pits Ginny and Debbie in a life and death battle.
I have to say this film sold me. It
takes place in a twisted world that only a former Tromet could come up with.
Mainly the stage of this twisted morality play takes place in three houses,
Ginny’s, Debbie’s, and the neighbor on the other side of Ginny who is basically
an old man with two hobbies, collecting windmills and peeping on the neighborhood.
Then the film goes that much further for psychological affect by going into
both women’s minds through voiceovers and creepy flashbacks.
But Rochon isn’t done there. After
all she mentored with the great Lloyd Kauffman. Rochon hits the viewer with a
blatant display of what the moral push of this story is through the vehicle of
an infomercial show that plays through the story called Suzie’s Secret. Suzie’s
Secret is a show hosted by Suzie (played in a fat suite by actress Suzi Lorraine ) for “regular
sized” women in order to sell them sexy clothes to make them feel empowered.
The main clothes model in this freak show is none other than drag actor and
Troma alumni Babette Bombshell. Babette thrills and shocks the viewer by
modeling skanky outfits while rubbing food over his/her body. Scary indeed.
And, don’t worry, gore hounds,
Debbie Rochon doesn’t forget you either. This film features some wonderful gore
scenes as Ginny takes out cheerleaders, an aspiring actress, a mechanic, and even
a Jehovah’s witness (because after all we can’t let those skinny Jehovah’s
witness girls get away). And the best thing of all is not one CGI gore scene in
the lot. Debbie Rochon goes for the best, and that is what has always worked,
practical FX.
The last few years we’ve seen a lot
of scream queens try the director’s chair. For the most part their efforts have
been lack luster, and in many cases down right embarrassing. Not so in this
case. I look forward to Debbie Rochon’s next directoral…
So, if you love twisted, gory,
psychological, horror that is done with the love and respect of the craft,
Model Hunger is the film for you.
Currently, this film is doing the
film festival run, but it should be coming to DVD and Blueray sometime in 2016.
I highly recommend you check it out if you get the chance. This will be one you
will want to add to your collection in the future.
Keep on Creepin', Horror Bob's Blog....
