Vampire Killer Barbys (1996)

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Yep, that's the title...'Killer Barbys'. I read they couldn't use 'Barbies' in the title due to issues with Mattel toys. Turns out that 'Killer Barbies' is actually the name of the punk rock group that stars in this film. The title attracted me to it thinking it might be worth a few laughs, it wasn't. I should have checked a little more about the film before I decided to watch it. This was written and directed by Jesus Franco. I kind of like some of his earlier work like 'The Diabolical Dr. Z (1966) and 'The Awful Dr. Orlof' (1962). After seeing this it's obvious he is well overdue for retirement. There was nothing to the formula story that hasn't been done a hundred times before and much better. Yes, there's gore, luckily of the silly very fake variety. Even the bodies looked fake...stiff as plastic mannequins when they're carried. There's one scene where a nude vampire woman is thrown out a window. When she leaves the room from the inside she's naked....as we see her falling from outside the house she is wearing a white negligee. She must have stopped somewhere between the top floor and the ground to put it on. The whole movie is ridiculous...I really should have turned it off, I was mesmerized by how poor it was. I can't believe they actually made a sequel a few years later. I read it's even worse than this one. I give this a 1 out of 10 rating because at least the music was catchy.

The rock band Killer Barbies is on tour across Spain when their van breaks down. They are invited by a dark stranger into a dark castle with a dark secret: the countess reached the age of Methusalem by drinking blood of young people. Such as... yes, rock band members. "Killer Barbys" suffers from the problems you could easily predict for a movie that is basically a mere promotion support for a band: poor acting (Aldo Sanbrell is the only exception), low budget, same old story. But it is clearly better than its sequel "Killer Barbies vs Dracula" in the whole atmosphere. The foggy castle is full of strange props like dolls without eyes, clocks, bones, barred windows... spooky! So, if you don't mind the silliness, gore and nudity, it's a "good bad flick". I dare say it even was the beginning of Jess Franco's return in the 90s when he seemed to fade away into oblivion.

The Killer Barbies van breaks down so they have to stay at a castle owned by a woman who bathes in blood and semen. Less of an actual movie than an overlong music video. This is quite the chore to get through. Horrid acting, boring clichéd lackluster plot, lame special effects, and a general putrid stench all add up to a horrible experience... even for a Jess Franco film (Franco fans, are of a different breed and have a much MUCH higher tolerance for cinematic crap) Followed by a (why god? WHY???!!??) sequel.My Grade: F DVD Extras: Intro & Scene specific commentary by the band; Talent Bios; Band interview; Movie review; 2 Music videos by 'the Killer Barbies'; Lobby card gallery; Jump to a scream option; and Trailers for "Jungle Holocaust", "Eaten Alive", "Beyond the Darkness", & "Burial Ground" Easter Egg: Intro outtakes & CD promo

On viewing this film I had no idea that The Barbies were an actual band and after reading the reviews on this site I've changed my view of the film - it's even worse than I first thought. I realise that these type of low budget/high gore flicks don't rely heavily on intense story lines or complex characterisations but that is still no excuse for not making an effort. The daylight filming, the obvious plastic bodies and the appalling dubbing, can probably be ignored by most people but for me it just killed the film stone dead. There is no atmosphere to speak of (which I think is essential for any `horror' film), the story line is mechanical and basically what you end up with is a teenager's version of a Scooby Doo episode.Only watch if you like films with large quantities of fake fog and Barbie dolls. 1/10