South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival – If you’re sick of slasher retreads and reboots, then boy, do I have a film for you. Bitch Ass. This is one wildly inventive slasher with each kill modeled after a board game. It also has a sympathetic and interesting killer, whose story is slowly revealed during the runtime.

Directed by comedian Bill Posley, Bitch Ass is set in 1999 and features a cool introduction by Titus Darq (Tony Todd), who references classic 90s Black horror films like Tales from the Hood, Bones, and of course, Candyman. Laughing maniacally, like some twisted horror host, Todd’s character introduces the story of the first masked Black serial killer, or, in other words, a Black slasher. It’s an entertaining and unique set-up, especially as the camera zooms in on stacks of VHS tapes, harnessing 90s nostalgia.

We’re then introduced to four teens, Tuck (Kelsey Caesar), Moo (A-F-R-O), Cricket (Belle Guillory), and the studios Q (Teon Kelley), about to be initiated into the 6th Street gang led by Spade (Sheaun McKinney). They need to rob an old woman’s house. It turns out the house belongs to Cecil/Bitch Ass (Tunde Laleye) and his granny (Sherri L. Walker). Through flashbacks, we learn that grandma is a mix of Norma Bates and Margaret White, Carrie’s fanatical religious mother. Young Cecil (Jarvis Denman Jr.) found escape from bullying and grandma’s brute punishments through board games.

The majority of the film is bloody good fun. The masked killer faces off against the teens, challenging them to life-sized editions of  Operation and Connect Four. If they lose, however, they die. Talk about high stakes. The last few games especially don’t hold back on the gore. Bitch Ass contains some of the most inventive and imaginative kills you’re likely to see this year. But it also works because several of the characters are likable, flawed and all, not mere hack and slash fodder.

Further, not only is Cecil a killer you generally feel sorry for, but Q is a good protagonist, a kid just trying to save for college because he lives with a single mom, Marsia (Me’lisa Sellers). As a teen, she was one of the few who defended Cecil against the young Spade and his merry group of thugs. She’s a caring mother who just wants her son to succeed and to especially avoid Spade, who she had a thing with as a kid. She knows he’s bad news.

The way the backstories all connect and slowly build is a credit to Posley, who co-wrote the film with Jonathan Colomb. They also created a layered killer here with an intriguing backstory. Props must also be given to the effective setting. Cecil’s house is presented as a board game, with each room labeled and containing its own risks. Additionally, the “players” are introduced as a set of cards, facing off against Cecil to various games of death. We simply haven’t seen a slasher this inspired since at least Happy Death Day or Freaky.

Bitch Ass is an original and gory romp. It even has sequel potential. After all, there are plenty of games to play. If you’re tired of all the franchise reboots and requels, then roll the dice and give Bitch Ass a try.

8 Out of 10