Gag (2006)

Directed by: Scott W. Mckinlay | 85 minutes | horror | Actors: Brian Kolodziej, Gerald Emerick, Vince Marinelli, Scott W. Mckinlay, Amy Wehrell, Trent Haaga, Malcolm Brownson, Crystal White, Kirk Sever, Rachel Sever, Max Sever, Isabella Sever

‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’? Wasn’t that the movie about some vacationers who step into the wrong house and pay for it with all too gory consequences? Yes, but apparently the makers of ‘Gag’ assume that this horror classic has already been forgotten, because the concept is shamelessly stolen for commercial exploitation. The fact that ‘TCM’ got a remake in 2003 is ignored for the sake of convenience.

Well… we can’t accuse director McKinlay of complete plagiarism. In his film we do not find innocent hippies, but it concerns thieves who are after a safe to crack. In addition, the south of the United States has been exchanged for a dark hovel somewhere in the north of America, but otherwise the concept remains unchanged. Unwittingly, some unsuspecting prospective victims enter the home of a maniacal serial killer with family issues. It is clear that something like this does not turn out to be drinking a cup of tea and within a few scenes the blood spatter is flying around you. Don’t forget that this film was released after the success of ‘Saw’ and that there are frantic efforts to make the film ‘shocking’. Every now and then there is a striking blow, but for the most part the film feels rather routine with a burn wound here and a shard of glass there.

‘Gag’ doesn’t have much more to offer. Where ‘TCM’ excelled in the direction of Tobe Hooper, who dared to push his inexperienced actors to the limit to capture the madness on camera, ‘Gag’ comes across as extremely tame. McKinlay seems uninterested in emotion, so our crooks calmly discuss the next step to take and escape handcuffs like true professionals. We don’t see real fear anywhere and the special effects hardly make an impression.

How the hell McKinlay spent $40,000 to make this film remains a mystery. ‘Gag’ is much more like that exam film of the academy that manages to get the diploma with a tight six. Reasonable from a technical point of view, but totally unsuitable for ever showing outside the walls of the school. The reason is that the camera work, the editing and the sound are all fine, but that the content of the film does not appeal at all. Just like in ‘TCM’, the film offers a series of chases, but unfortunately the actors never manage to convey the absolute terror of death, as Marilyn Burns did so well more than thirty years ago.

The most exciting question ‘Gag’ manages to raise is when will distributors stop serving us the endless stream of ‘Saw’ inspired crap and start trying to monetize interesting movies again. At the academy you may succeed with that, but headmaster Colin just hands out a big fail.