Cheerbleeders

Cheerbleeders (2008)

Here at Gutmunchers.com we love to review low budget horror movies from up and coming filmmakers. I had heard some good things about Cheerbleeders, so I got in touch with the director and asked him to send me a copy. All I can say is thanks, this movie rules.

This is a really simple story (the movie is only 10 minutes long), but a very cool one. A couple of High School outcasts named Penny and Devon end up unleashing a power that allows Devon to control some of the most popular girls in school. They will do anything he tells them to and this power goes to his head. Before you know it he is using them to extract his revenge on the football team and anyone else who has the misfortune to get in his way. Only Penny, who has figured out what has happened, can stop him from hurting anyone else. But will she be able to?

This is a really funny and entertaining short movie. The story is short and to the point. You have the cheerleaders quickly turning into monsters as they become more and more the slaves to Devon’s will. Is it Devon or the item that makes them monsters? Who knows and really who cares. And while the story isn’t anything new, the dialogue is funny and the characters have some great one-liners. The best is saved for the end of the movie. I was also impressed with the cast. Of course they don’t really have the time to establish any sort of character, but they do a nice job delivering lines and acting. That might seem like a silly observation, but trust me this isn’t a given when watching an independent film.

In addition to being well-written and paced Cheerbleeders also sports some of the best technical filmmaking I’ve seen in an independent movie. The camera work, lighting, and sound are all handled nicely. But what really impressed me is how great the action scene at the end worked. I mean I could actually tell what was going on all while not getting motion sick. Yeah I know I always complain about the camera shacking around too much. But I’ll stick to my guns that rattling the camera around like a 12 year old off his Ritalin is the tool of a lazy filmmaker that can’t shoot an action scene. So when I see an up and coming filmmaker like Peter Podgursky do such a good job I have to point it out.

I highly recommend everyone check out Cheerbleeders. For more information where you can head over to their website at http://www.cheerbleeders.com/

3 ½ out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer