Review: Body Count

Cody checks out a horror anthology featuring Malvolia: The Queen of Screams.

Seven years ago, Jennifer Nangle created a character called Malvolia: The Queen of Screams, who she has played in multiple seasons of shorts released through the Queen Malvolia YouTube channel. Horror fans may also be familiar with the character from the 10/31 anthology films, where Malvolia is the host that presents the segments to the viewer. Those movies are the rare case where an anthology actually leaves you wishing there had been more of the host – and luckily Nangle has now teamed up with fellow writers Charles Chudabala, Eric Lawson, Ron Purtee, and Christine Twyman, as well as fellow directors Alexander T. Hwang, Hunter Johnson, and Richard Trejo, to craft an anthology film that not only features more Malvolia, but also serves as a great showcase for Nangle’s acting abilities.

Malvolia may be a horror host, but she’s not the sort of horror host who just hangs out and comments on movies or shorts. This horror host is a bloodthirsty maniac, so Body Count begins with her and some of her maniacal pals sending a group of victims running off into the countryside to be hunted down and killed. This is the wrap-around story, and we’ll be coming back to this campy “most dangerous game” scenario throughout the movie – but interspersed between these scenes are five short stories, all of which star Nangle as different characters. 

In the first of these shorts, Nangle plays actress Genevieve, whose career is in decline after a scandal that involved director Mike Rossman (Kurt Boyd). Docked pay for refusing to do nudity in a micro-budget vampire movie, late on her rent, on the verge of being homeless, Genevieve decides to pursue a role in the latest Rossman production that would pay $100,000. Of course, this situation isn’t going anywhere safe, and Nangle delivers a great performance as Genevieve while the interesting story plays out.

The second short really lives up to the Body Count title, as it finds Nangle playing a character named Catherine, who is on a mission of vengeance, seeking out a group of people who assaulted and humiliated her in high school so she can knock them off one-by-one. I’m a big fan of slasher movies, they’re my favorite kind of horror movie to watch, so I had a good time watching Catherine murder her way through this bunch of terrible people. She makes a mess out of them, and there are some good gore effects here, including a nicely presented (especially given the low budget) moment where a person gets torn in half.

The third segment drops us right into the action, with Nangle’s character Holly Hatchet and two friends arming themselves and raiding the warehouse lair of the vampire Craven (Michael Jon Murphy) and his lackeys. Even the characters are disappointed with the lack of production design in this location, but they don’t have much time to complain before the blood starts flowing. If you’re a fan of the classic monsters, you’ll like the final moments of this one, which could open the door to more Holly Hatchet: Monster Hunter stories, if Nangle and her collaborators want to go down that path. If they do make more Holly Hatchet shorts (or a movie), I’ll gladly watch them.

The fourth segment switches things up. While Nangle played the heroine or the vengeful lead in the previous chapters, in this one she’s the villain. Her character Esther has stolen thousands from people in a pyramid scheme, and a few of her victims have invited her to a party where they plan to confront her. Esther is an awful person and this get-together goes off the rails very quickly, but not at all in the way I was expecting.

That also goes for the fifth segment, which has twists and turns and casts Nangle as a character named Lily – who at first seems like she’s going to have a rather small role in this segment. But don’t be fooled just because she’s not in the first few scenes. Lily’s presence is very important to this one.

With that story wrapped up, the wrap-around segment also comes to an end, leaving the door wide open for more Malvolia action in the future.

The fact that Body Count was made on a minuscule budget is evident throughout, but if you overlook the budgetary shortcomings, there is a good amount of entertainment to be found in this anthology. The stories are interesting and often blood-soaked, there’s all kinds of monsters and maniacs, and you get to see Nangle play six different characters over the course of 100 minutes. Her talent really shines through in this movie, as we get to see her play a range of characters, from over-the-top killers to badass heroes and heartbroken victims. She has a solid supporting cast around her, with some of the other actors playing multiple roles as well, but the main takeaway from this movie for me was just how impressive Nangle’s acting skills are.

If you like blood, violence, monsters, and good acting, and don’t mind the low budget look, Body Count is a fun movie to watch. It’s currently seeking distribution, but copies can be ordered directly from Jennifer Nangle.