Dahmer vs. Gacy (2011)

It all starts out innocently enough.  The US government doesn’t want to fall behind in cloning technology and be the last to create a cloned super soldier.  So what do they do?  They create X13, a secret project designed to make the perfect cloned killing machine.  Of course the super soldiers they are looking to create need to possess certain qualities.  They need to be ruthless, cunning and ready to kill without a moment’s hesitation.  What better way to get these qualities than to clone the greatest serial killers in history?  Nothing could go wrong since the clones are all safely contained in a well-guarded military base.  All right, we all know something is going to go wrong and it doesn’t take long for two of the clones to escape, leaving a trail of dead soldier guards behind them.  Then the killing spree begins.  Dahmer and Gacy both start killing random people as they work on hunting down the Doctor behind their creation.  Only a few of the murders are shown, the rest are covered by fake news reports where eyewitnesses are interviewed.  Soon others get into the act.  A crazy alcoholic hick named Ringo is sent by God (or just voices in his head) to kill the clones.  The Japanese government sends a team of ninjas to get them.  The US government sends out X13, the ultimate killer clone that has an odd obsession with corn on the cob.  It doesn’t take long after that for all hell to break loose culminating in a spectacularly bloody showdown at the home of the doctor who created the clones in the first place.

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie.  Granted, after seeing the title my expectations weren’t that high, but soon my fears were put to rest and I actually enjoyed watching it.  It had some good writing and was quite funny.  Not all the jokes worked, but they were more hit than miss.  Unlike a lot of low budget horror films the focus wasn’t on the special effects, which were mostly just blood splatters.  Instead it seemed like more work went into the writing and acting, which were both pretty good.  There were a few professional actors I knew from other things in this and even the ones I didn’t recognize were pretty good.  At times it got a little over the top with things that could possibly have been funny but didn’t really work for me, but overall the humor in it was pretty good and reminded me of a Troma film.  I particularly enjoyed some of the fake newscasts (especially the serial killer fan club one) and the parts where Ringo was arguing with “God”.  The guy that played Gacy was fairly spooky, especially when he didn’t have talking parts.  I wasn’t as big a fan of Dahmer, but he didn’t have the clown makeup to help him out either.  The ending was a bit of a letdown where they tried a few twists too many, but it was still fun to watch.

I’d say that this is a movie to watch if you are looking for something a little different.  It’s higher quality than some of the independent films out there and it doesn’t feel like a complete waste of time when you are through with it.  I laughed out loud a few times watching various scenes, which is always a good thing.  It’s not top notch, but it’s good enough to keep you entertained if you are in the right mood.

2 ½  out of 4

reviewed by Scott Schwarzwalder

© Copyright 2011 John Shatzer