The democratization of access to equipment and technology has given creators an ability to create films that are deeply personal, or in the case of Bad Girls, a film that is like a blitzkrieg with moments of Zen sprinkled throughout. When that equipment and technology is put in the hands of someone like Bickel, who isn’t afraid of putting every ounce of energy and passion into his filmmaking, you get an achievement like Bad Girls. - Wade Sellers
Whether you click your phone, hit your spacebar on your computer, or hit play on your DVD remote, when you start director Chris Bickel’s 2nd feature film Bad Girls, make sure you are in a comfortable seat because you won’t be leaving it for the next 97 minutes.
There are plenty of accolades to spread around but the major achievement of Bickel’s micro-budget 2nd feature is the director’s ability to create an overwhelmingly inviting atmosphere from scene one. The film is violent and bloody from the start and Bickel commits to his script from the first frame to the bullet and blood-soaked end.
At its heart, Bad Girls is a hyper-violent, drug induced road movie that follows the main characters Val, Carolyn, and Mitzi Ann on the run after they rob a strip club, steal a car, and begin a night of violence that is fueled by the search for love, and bullets. A lot of bullets.
The three women who play the leads are the beautifully balanced center of Bad Girls. Bickel flexes a lot of clever low budget filmmaking tricks throughout the film, but a director can never escape bad casting. It's hard to look away from Morgan Shaley Renew the moment she appears center screen. Renew’s “Val” is strong, on a mission, and in charge, and the actor creates a magnetic performance. Shelby Guinn’s “Carolyn” and Sanethia Dresch’s “Mitzi Ann” are expertly balanced as Val’s co-conspirators. These three actors didn’t demand your attention throughout the film.
Bickel’s choice for a supporting cast doesn’t disappoint either. Mike Amason plays nasal spray sniffing Special Agent Mike Cannon with a fun campiness that doesn’t turn into caricature. Special Agent Cannon chases the girls during their terror spree with the help of Special Agent McMurphy played by Dove Dupree. Dupree’s straight man to Amason is a fun turn from the normally dumbed down partner roles.
It’s a night that finds the Bad Girls terrorizing young lovers, beating obnoxious bar patrons, kidnapping rock stars, and fighting redneck white supremacists.
Bickel and Shane Silman’s script is solid, with some incredibly funny throw away lines hidden throughout the film. And Bickel isn’t too proud to put his influences in a box, shake them up, and mix them with his growing adeptness to a relatively new style of indie filmmaking that has become more prevalent in the past 5 years.
Bad Girls couldn’t have been made more than 5 years ago.
Bickel could have raised the same money (the film was made for $16k) and pulled a crew together to shoot his script on video, but something has changed in recent indie filmmaking. The democratization of access to equipment and technology has given creators an ability to create films that are deeply personal, or in the case of Bad Girls, a film that is like a blitzkrieg with moments of Zen sprinkled throughout. When that equipment and technology is put in the hands of someone like Bickel, who isn’t afraid of putting every ounce of energy and passion into his filmmaking, you get an achievement like Bad Girls.
No detail is overlooked. Poor production design and bad audio can kill a film. Both excel in Bad Girls. The original and previously recorded music are used perfectly. The difficulty of taking an independent voice and translating it into an independent feature film when you have limited resources cannot be understated.
The real achievement of Bickel and his film is the ability to understand the resources in front of him, ignore those saying it can’t be done, and bring together a group of people committed to helping make your vision a reality. Bad Girls is part of the new wave of American filmmaking- stories from creators who choose only to make films on their terms because they can.
Once you start Bad Girls, you have just about 90 seconds to decide to back out before you find it impossible to pull away for the next hour. I suggest you hop in the car with them and just enjoy the ride.
Bad Girls
Directed by Chris Bickel
Written by Chris Bickel and Shane Silman
Review by Wade Sellers