Grub Girl Review

Distributor: Northstar Associates Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Horror Also known as: Ed Lee's Grub Girl, GrubGirl Run Time: 81 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 2006 Director: Craven Moorehead Written by: uncredited, Edward Lee (as Ed Lee) (based on character by) Cast: Brittney Skye, Charmane Star (as Charmaine Star), Teanna Kai, Eva Angelina, Gigi, Tony T., Talon, Kurt Lockwood, Buster Good Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1

Grub Girl is the first cinematic property based on a work by prolific underground horror writer Edward Lee to get released. Anyone who has ever read anything by Edward Lee knows that his combination of twisted sex and perverted violence is ripe for the adult film industry, so his first adaptation coming out as an adult movie is not suprising. As to why one of his works hasn't been made into an adult film prior is a bit of a mystery.

Craven Moorehead has actually licensed and brought “Grub-Girl” from Glenn Danzig's Verotik to the blue screen. The original “Grub-Girl” appeared in Verotika 8 published in February 1996 and was followed by “Grub-Girl Returns” in Verotika 15 in March 1997 and had its own stand alone issue Grub Girl 1 in June 1997. “Grub-Girl” was written by underground horror legend Edward Lee and illustrated by Simon Morse and is a comic about a junkie prostitute that gets hit by the radiation trail left by a ramjet plane, a plane invented by the government that requires no fuel to fly but leaves a radiation trail. The prostitute gets hit by the radiation trail which turns her into a grub, a zombie at is not able to be harmed or killed and is super strong. The short lived comic series would have made for a perfect adult film.

Sadly, little of the feel of Lee's comic is present here. So where did Moorehead go wrong? The comic contained material that would be hard to produce in an adult movie these days due to what studios are willing to put into their productions. Moorehead starts his movie off with a montage of random sexual and non-sexual footage before bringing us to the story, what little of it exists in this movie. We get a brief narrative from Grub Girl (Brittney Skye) telling us how she became a grub girl, which goes pretty much the same way as in the comics, before the movie jumps into the sex. That is where most of the similarities to the comic's story ends.

The opening sex scene wasn't in the comic series but would have fit into an Edward Lee tale as two mortuary attendants (Tony T. and Talon) fuck the deceased titular Grub Girl before she comes back as a zombie. Sadly, after this scene, for the most part, little is seen that would even fit in with Lee's work. There is a poorly done attempt at a gore scene with Rome (Buster Good) Grub Girl's pimp that tries to hark back the feel of the comic. The gore is so poorly done that it almost becomes a mockery of itself.

Moorehead clearly made the movie on the cheap, which is surprising given that he licensed the property from Verotik and he even has a song by Glenn Danzig in the movie. The cheapness really harms the end product. Lee's gore is usually over the top, so a more subdued implied scene wouldn't fit with the sourcing. However, even in ways that Moorehead could have kept the feel with the limited budget he doesn't. The comic was dark and gritty yet Moorehead shot scenes in the daytime and often just reverted to a standard looking set with a Halloween theme style lighting design to convey the dark feel of the comic.

The stock footage that Moorehead uses of the ramjet is not a futuristic stealth plane as used in the comic but is an ancient clunker that looks like it might have been used in the 1950s. The alley where Grub Girl's scene with Rome occurs is trashed but doesn't give one the feeling of the dystopian future in Lee's comic. Nor does much else within this movie. Moorehead did a good job lighting Grub Girl when she is giving her narrative portions, that fit in well with the comic's theme. Her talk to the audience at the very end by the uncredited writer of this movie doesn't though.

Originally Danzig was going to have Hustler make the property and, sadly, he made a mistake by not bringing the property to them. Northstar Associates didn't bring the budget to the table that Grub Girl needed nor did it bring a story that kept the feel of the comic series. The end result is an adult movie that will disappoint fans of Edward Lee as well as fans of adult movies.

Northstar Associates has really skimped on this release. Grub Girl is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The movie was shot on video and the limitations of the source material is evident. The picture is clear and free of defects and color levels look like they are appropriate.

Grub Girl is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track which is adequate for the material being presented. The dialog is clear and can be heard at all times.

Northstar Associates hasn't included any extras on this release.

Edward Lee is a gifted and twisted underground horror writer who combines sex and violence for some great tales. He deserves his work to be made into a far better adaptation than this quickly and cheaply done movie that loses the feel of “Grub-Girl” and is overall not much better than your average adult movie. Northstar Associates has skimped on this release.

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