On The Cutting Room Floor.

VHS Fridays continue with the next tape on the pile, the 2000 Aussie meta slasher Cut. The fact that I have done two Australian movies in a row is completely coincidental. I mean seeing Molly Ringwald on the box obviously didn't scream “down under” to me. But let's see if it makes the cut (mugs to camera).

A young director tries to finish a lost horror film called Hot Blooded, after it was shelved after its director was brutally murdered on-set.

Cut starts well enough, giving us a film within a film where Molly Ringwald is stalked ad nauseum. I award early points for using the Split Enz song “I Got You” - NZ represent! When a gore effect malfunctions, the director (Kylie Minogue in a brief cameo) get pissed and is later murdered by Scissorman, I mean, Scarman with some very odd looking shears. This causes the film to be lost and rumoured cursed, until Film Audiovisual Radio & Television School's (FARTS for short!) best and brightest decide to finish it.

This movie doesn't really hide its intentions. Cut was Australia's entry into the nineties slasher cycle and as well as their answer to Scream, with Scarman standing in for Ghostface. Hell, they even managed to get Ringwald, who during the genesis of Scream was tapped to play Sidney Prescott. Here she's more of the Gale Weathers though, with Aussie actress Jessica Napier filling in for Neve. I will at least say they share the same vibe.

Jessica Napier & Molly Ringwald in Cut.

Cut struggles at times to get the ingredients of the meta slasher just right, sometimes leaning into full parody. You also have to ignore the fact that this low-budget horror production seems to be able to chug along even after their department heads start going missing. No boom? No wardrobe? No sound? No problem!

Having said that, the Scarman mask does look cool and was apparently cast to the actor's face for an extra snug fit. During the climax, there are some mask-melting effects that come off well. I assume it was a mix of practical and digital that for the time are kind of impressive. I'll have to ask my buddy Nash if he has seen this film because the only other time I have seen a death-by-wood-slicer scene is In A Violent Nature. I know he used many films as inspiration, but this would be the deepest cut (Oops, I did it again) of all. Oh, and I have to mention that Hot Blooded's shooting location is named the Swiss Chalet. I love that even foreigners can get in on Canadian content every once and a while.

Cut, though it sometimes overindulges in the tropes of the time, is still an entertaining watch that at a brisk eighty-two minutes doesn't overstay. Plus, I have to admit it was nice seeing Molly Ringwald again. That's all for now, let's see what I get up to next week.