Full disclosure before we begin, I hadn’t seen 2015’s Killer Pinata before heading into the sequel; Bride of the Killer Pinata.
Luckily for this reviewer, filmmaker Stephen Tramontana was good enough to provide a first five minutes explanation of the previous film to bring us all up to speed.
As you can imagine by the title, you need to suspend your disbelief pretty early on. Having said this, Bride… plays it largely straight, if you can believe it.
There is horror movie logic akin to the Chucky series about the resurrection of the Killer Pinata plus the appearance of his new murderous bride.
Bride’s greatest strength is getting us to emote for the killer pinata. Even though the film is clearly made on a limited budget, it shies away from bad CGI where possible and implements some fantastic practical effects. The stand outs are one person getting their face peeled off while another victim is offed using the torn-off penis of another victim through the head.
There is a story about relationships in Megan Mcmanus and Tramontana’s script, whether it is the pinata’s or the relationship of first film survivors Lindsey and Nat, who have now settled down and adopted a daughter.
Just as they feel like their relationship is going stale, the killer pinata is brought back and a bloodbath ensues, giving them a purpose and a chance to reignite their spark through hunting it down. All perfectly logical.
Bride of the Killer Pinata was unexpectedly a lot of fun, with some gory effects and few laughs in between. My only main gripe, similar to Terrifier 2 is that it is a bit too long and has one random side plot which does slow things down at times.
Bring on Revenge of the Killer Pinata.
Bride of the Killer Pinata screened as part of Sohome Horror Fest: Pride Edition.
Bloody Flicks 