Review: DEADLY CRUSH (2018)
Dakota Aesquivel the writer/director of DEADLY CRUSH described the film to me as “an erotic supernatural thriller” and warned me it had its share of erotica in it. One of the reviews I saw seemed shocked at the amount. So I sat down expecting something along the lines of a late-night Cinemax softcore film. Instead, I got a revenge/possession horror film with some nudity and ghost sex. Which is a bit more to my liking.
Brynn (Aria London WEAPONIZED) is an artist with problems. She’s had a creative dry spell that’s matched the one she’s had in bed. She retreats to a cabin in the woods to try to get some painting done. The cabin, of course, has a dark history. After a robbery, a falling out among the thieves leads to Kit (Dakota Aesquivel) and his girlfriend is killed. His blood splatters on a sacred Native American object binding his soul to the cabin, which has sat empty until now.
Kit’s spirit possesses people such as male model Liam (James William O’Halloran) to try to get with Brynn in whom he sees his lost love as well as to get revenge on their killer. A killer who has no problems killing again to keep his crimes a secret.
DEADLY CRUSH is an OK film, but it could have been a lot better. Its main problem is a badly muddled script. Kit possesses people to get things done in the physical world. But he can also manifest himself solidly enough to have sex with Brynn. Why not simply possess his killer when they’re in the cabin and deal with them directly? And since he can do both of these, why does he continue to possess Liam’s body long after it’s started to rot? Why not jump to a less noticeable host?
Also, for a film that bills itself as “erotic” DEADLY CRUSH is pretty tame in that department. The term conjures up some expectations. And when underwear stays on during the first sex scene it’s obvious the film isn’t going to meet them. There is some skin on display and Aria London is certainly attractive, but a bit more would have been nice.
There are some recognizable faces among the supporting cast. Stand-up comedienne Judy Tenuta turns up as a medium named Claire Voyant. William Sadler (THE MIST, THE HOLLOW) is Sheriff Hawkins who it’s obvious from the start has some secrets. And Courtney Gains (CORBIN NASH, CANDY CORN) turns up as Laurence a former priest who’s caught up in the killer’s cover-up attempts.
DEADLY CRUSH isn’t bad and would make a good enough watch on a Saturday afternoon but it really needed its script tightened up. DEADLY CRUSH is available on Amazon Prime. You can check for other outlets carrying it on its website and on its Facebook page.