Welcome to Izzy’s Eerie Indies! Every month, I will highlight the stylings of a different independent filmmaker working in the horror genre. Rather than look at their entire filmography, I will pick one movie that provides insight into their unique brand of cinema.
For our first month, I’m sinking my teeth into Murdercise (2023), A&P Productions’ newest horror comedy about an 80’s workout video shoot gone wrong.
Who are A&P Productions?
Hailing from Modesto, California, the filmmaking couple Angie De Alba and Paul Ragsdale lend the first letters of their names to their production company just as they lend their individual talents to making some very entertaining flicks! They do it all: Writing, directing, set and costume design, producing, and editing.
Starting with Cinco de Mayo in 2013, the couple has made four feature films and a short [called Nite Time Creatures (2018)], all featuring much of the same cast.
A few months ago, I watched Psycho Ape! (2020) for the first time and was so impressed by Kansas Bowling’s performance that I decided to look into her filmography. That’s when I discovered A&P’s newest movie Murdercise.
What is Murdercise about?
Phoebe (Kansas Bowling) is a Ronald Reagan-loving prude who works at Hot Dog on a Stick until one day she’s hired to appear in a workout video. This is Phoebe’s chance to break out of her humdrum existence and achieve the stardom she knows she is destined to attain!
But the other actresses and film crew are totally unprofessional! The video’s star Candy (Jessa Flux) only wants to flirt and show off her new horror movie (as well as her boobs!). And Gino (Bryan Hurd), the director, only cares about appeasing Mr. Stromboli, the video’s elusive but threatening Mafia financier.
As Phoebe complains, her fellow actors entertain.
The cast and crew do drugs, eat fast food, drink, flirt, and gyrate in suggestive ways that offend Phoebe’s conservative sensibilities. And she is very aware that she doesn’t fit in: “All those girls out there are perverts, strippers, and Communists!” she yells at the increasingly-exasperated Gino.
Then, she snaps!
Meanwhile, a pair of criminals masquerading as cops stumbles upon the studio and all hell breaks loose. The criminals see easy prey in their unsuspecting victims, but they might be the ones in over their heads . . . and not in the somersault way!
The Murdercise cast has incredible chemistry.
Similar to her character in Psycho Ape!, Kansas Bowling plays Phoebe with an earnest innocence that amplifies her comic timing and the gradual unraveling of her mental state. Her self-aware line delivery is hilarious, and she is the perfect foil to a very worldly cast of characters.
Many of Ragsdale and De Alba’s regular cast appear in Murdercise: Nina Lanee Kent’s Mafiosa princess Isabella guides Phoebe through her journey of liberation, and Ginger Lynn shines as Isabella’s mom, wielding her assertive sexuality to get what she wants.
Drew Marvick and Jessa Flux are absolute magic together as Chuck and Candy, especially in a scene where Candy tries and fails to get Chuck to look at her boobs, sending her into a fit of lethal hysterics when he refuses (think of that fat union paycheck, Chuck!).
Ragsdale and De Alba are unstoppable!
While the actors commit wholeheartedly to their roles, De Alba’s and Ragsdale’s writing and direction strengthen their character bonds and enhance their on-screen chemistry.
Working through their filmography from Streets of Vengeance (2016) to Slashlorette Party (2020) to Murdercise, I began to notice a more confident voice emerging: The score, costume and set designs, hairstyles, and humor coalesce into what I can only call a uniquely-A&P stylized 80’s aesthetic.
The pair delivers homage to 80s slashers while infusing it with their own signature silliness, grindhouse grit, playful horniness, and sincerity that make all of their movies so enjoyable to watch.
To me, they’re a pair to keep your eyes on in the horror world and in the world of independent filmmaking in general!
What’s next for A&P?
The couple’s next feature should appear sometime next year; it’s a horror flick called Onlyfangs about a guy who helps a vampire burlesque group grow their empire by developing a new app! Jessa Flux and Nina Lanee Kent return in what’s sure to be a hilarious and bloody good time.
For now, you can stream Cinco de Mayo, Streets of Vengeance, Slashlorette Party, and Murdercise on Tubi. They’re all fantastic. While you watch those, I’ll be here looking for my next movie to share!
Screenshots were taken from the official Murdercise trailer; poster was purchased via CineMaterial.
