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I’m always up for a good slasher flick… especially when they try to be different. Cowboy Killer is a film that is way different from your typical slasher flick. The film still contains the three B’s, booze, blood, and breasts, but it also provides for a wickedly hilarious good time. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard at a slasher flick… truth be told, I hardly ever laugh out loud at a movie, and the shit I laughed at in this film was actually intentional!

The film tells the tale of one Roy Thompson, a sadistic cowboy intent on finding some genteel ladies to hang out with… aka kill. This Charles Bronson/John Wayne hybrid cruises through a modern day small town picking it out chicks to spend time with, educating the local hicks on manners, and even stopping to train a fellow serial killer in the art of female homicide. As the film goes on, Roy’s victims begin to pile up and his list of enemies grows longer and longer. When they band together to roust that no good Roy Thompson from their town, they find themselves in for one damn bloody treat.

Director Jason Baustin has crafted a low-budget classic that will appeal to the most discriminating and twisted horror fans. Baustin’s flick is a love letter to the genre that manages to be hilarious without compromising itself, unlike such self-referential films as Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and every other self-aware horror flick that has come along. Cowboy Killer isn’t so much self-referential as it is self-knowledgeable, taking in everything that makes a slasher flick good and infusing it with a pervert’s wit and sense of humor. It’s not anything necessarily ground-breaking… unless you look at all the crap that gets labeled “horror” these days. In that case you’ll find that this movie being entertaining is actually kind of a novelty.

Baustin’s film is gritty, has the feel of an ‘80s low-budget exploitation flick, and flows down the mental gullet like a beer after a twelve-hour shift at the aborted fetus disposal plant. The imagery and the setups in the film are pretty solid and done with an eye to entertainment. Baustin’s hilariously handled flashbacks of Roy Thompson’s youth are off the wall hilarious, and his portrayal of Thompson’s delusional world is equally effective.

The cast in the film is pretty good for a low-budget flick. Paul Bailey turns in the best psychotic killer performance since… uhh, gee… most psychotic killers are poorly acted. Bailey’s performance ranks right up there with the best of them. His catch-phrase alone is enough to vault him over the likes of Anthony Perkins and others. Honestly, I haven’t been able to get Roy Thompson’s ridiculous catch-phrase out of my head for the last three days, and no matter how hard I try, I just can’t deliver it the way Bailey does. The rest of the cast is pretty solid, even though there are a few moments of bad acting scattered here and there.

The gore in the film could be done a little better, but at least there are a shitload of kills in this movie. The gore is plentiful and satisfying, but it does suffer in a few spots, especially when things like obviously fake severed heads pop up out of nowhere. I can’t help but think how awesome this film would be if it had a larger budget.

Cowboy Killer is the slasher flick that every mindless horror fan has been waiting for. Get yourself a copy of this movie when it streets, and prepare yourself for a damn treat. I know I’ll be scoring myself a copy as soon as it comes out.

Final Synopsis: Cowboy Killer rocks. Roy Thompson is my hero. Give this a watch, or just trust your favorite movie reviewer and buy a copy of this when it comes out. You won’t be disappointed… unless you hate pointless killing, boobs, and catch-phrases that you can’t get out of your head.

Points Lost: -1 for some gore pieces that didn’t quite do it for me, -1 for some moments of subpar acting, -1 for some poor sound spots

Bonus Points: +1 for Roy Thompson being awesome and spouting his catch-phrase every five or six minutes… basically he’s like the horror version of Louie from The State

Lesson Learned: Serial killers can spot each other.

Burning Question: Will we get a Cowboy Killer 2?

Cowboy Killer
8/10

Tags: 2008, horror comedy, indie, jason baustin, latest dvd movie reviews, low-budget, paul bailey, recent, slasher