Killer Camera Monsters. Say it again, Killer Camera Monsters. With a title like that, I should have known what I was in for. But having recently enjoyed another killer camera film, Polaroid, I was optimistic. Well, now I can be optimistic about the fact it’ll probably be a while before I see anything this bad again.

Adam (Philip Orazio) is a photographer. He’s just broken up with his girlfriend Sarah (Lauren Compton, Once Upon A Time In Deadwood, Hell Girl) who took all their clients when she left. On the advice of a friend, he buys a new camera to restart his business and his life. He gets a great deal on a top-end model, with the warning never to use it in artificial light. He thinks that’s just an image quality thing.

He’s soon shooting plenty of new clients and has a new woman in his life, Tina (Bernadette Perez, Mayday, Ugly Sweater Party). She was also friends with one of his models who’s now missing and has hired P.I. Miller (Steve Filice, Dead 7) to find her. He begins to notice a high mortality rate among those around Adam. Can he bring Adam down before he can cover his tracks, get revenge on Sarah and get away? Do you care?

Killer Camera Monsters wants to be a horror-comedy but it fails at both. The camera turns people into animalistic killers when used in artificial light. There are no transformation effects beyond a little facial makeup, they just run around on all fours and attack people. While animal noises play on the soundtrack of course.

The humour in Killer Camera Monsters is on the level of a guy getting his leg ripped off and telling his fleeing girlfriend, “This isn’t good”. Or Adam giggling maniacally after punching someone in the nuts. Some of the fight scenes are actually funny, but for the wrong reason. Think truly bottom of the barrel pro wrestling and you’ll get the idea.

Writer/director Ryan McBay (All In) also doesn’t give Killer Camera Monsters any likable or even vaguely realistic characters. Adam is described as a “struggling photographer” but he lives in a huge apartment, goes to fancy restaurants and can buy an expensive camera with cash. Don’t you wish you were struggling as well?

Killer Camera Monsters is available on streaming platforms from IronWest Films.