Movie review: GUTTERBALLS

I had heard of this movie for a while, read many reviews, and was really looking forward to it. I was so excited when my special order came in at my local DVD shop, only to be disappointed upon finally viewing the film. The film's story takes place in a bowling alley. Two groups of "friends" meet there for a bowling challenge after hours. (Someone knows the owner....Which I won't tell you for fears of spoiling the ending). Anyway, one night after a dispute erupts, one of the girls from one group is brutally raped by the guys from the other group. Then, the next night they all meet up again for a bowling game rematch. This time though, when the game is over, no one gets to go home. The doors are locked and the killing starts. One by one the guys involved with the brutal act are killed off in very gruesome and gory ways by a masked killer. While this could have been a great horror film, it fails for many reasons. One, the rape scene is showed in full. It is very graphic, violent, and disturbing. Now, being the horror fan that I am...I like my horror movies to be violent, graphic, and disturbing, but not when it comes to the serious subject of rape. There was no reason to show all of it, and it seemed like it went on for at least 10 minutes. Now, I know the reason for this was to set up the reason for the killer seeking revenge and to make you dislike these characters, but showing it like it did was an obvious attempt by the director to just plain shock and appal you, and for that reason, I guess he succeeds.

Another reason this movie fails is the killer himself. Remember I mentioned a "masked killer". Well....the killer wears a bowling bag over his head. That's right...a bowling bag. Silliest killer mask I have ever seen. Really takes the shock and suspense out of a movie when you immediately start laughing every time you see the killer!


The last reason I didn't like this movie is the characters. They are all super annoying. Especially the character of Steve. All he does is yell, complain, put people down (even the friends he came with), and gripe at everybody to "bring him a beer". He also finds the need to use profanity in a at least one out of every 3 words he speaks (or yells, actually). Seriously, he yells at everybody through the whole film...it's really annoying! The only good thing this movie has going for it is the gore effects. They are really good and plentiful, so you should like that. Other than that, this movie is a "gutterball" itself. "Spare" yourself and skip it. This movie did not "strike" my fancy! Ha ha...ok, I am done with the bowling jokes now, unless I can think of a few more........