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Is it possible to be filled with so much hatred and bigotry that you project it onto an inanimate object? That’s just one of the many timely themes explored in 18-year-old Alice Maio Mackay’s thrilling new slasher Bad Girl Boogey, which follows a terrifying, mysterious masked killer who horrifyingly targets transgender and queer victims in a small town.
Australian filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay has two new feature films coming out this year—T Blockers and Bad Girl Boogey. Mackay’s first feature film, So Vam, is a coming of age, queer vampire story that also calls out bigotry and once again proves you don’t need a big budget to make a good movie. It’s especially impressive when you find out Mackay was only 16 years old when she made it. Written by Mackay and Benjamin Pahl Robinson and directed by Mackay, Bad Girl Boogey follows a group of teens who have to become amateur detectives when their friends start being killed by someone wearing a bizarre mask, who only seems interested in attacking trans or queer people.
The story begins with a group of teenagers performing a ritual on Halloween night in a run-down house that was previously owned by an old man rumored to have been practicing black magic. They draw a pentagram on the floor, light candles, and sprinkle salt to form a circle, and begin preparing for the ritual. Blair (Em Bleby) wanders away from the group and rummages around in a back room, finding an old box containing a strange mask. They are compelled to put the mask on and manipulated to brutally kill everyone in the house. Afterward, Blair rips off the mask and drops to the ground, sobbing, outside the house.
Many Halloweens later, we meet Angel (Lisa Fanto), a teen who has had a troubled life since the death of her mother and now lives with her aunt. After her mother died, people in town found out she was queer, causing some of them to act uncomfortable around Angel, as if they are punishing her for her mother’s lifestyle. Angel goes out dancing with her friends Lila (Prudence Cassar) and Dario (Iris Mcerlean), and when Lila is alone, someone wearing a hoodie and a mask attacks and kills her. Angel and Dario walk in to see the killer crouching beside Lila and then run away. Devastated over the loss of Lila and not getting much help from the local police, Angel and Dario embark on a dangerous investigation of their own to try and find the killer.
Horror has always been queer, but Alice Maio Mackay’s dedication to casting trans and queer actors in queer horror stories highlights the importance of queer storytelling, gives her work an authentic feel, and also serves as a form of activism. It’s impossible not to make a connection between movies like Bad Girl Boogey and what’s going on in the world when in reality, states are currently trying to pass bills that would take away the right of trans and queer people to literally exist, making it easy to imagine a serial killer targeting these same people out of pure hatred, and that’s pretty scary.
During their investigation into Lila’s murder, Angel and Dario find startling evidence that someone may have used black magic rituals to create a way to get revenge on queer people, and the rituals might be linked to more deaths than just Lila. They are horrified to learn that over the years, multiple killings have occurred that were seemingly fueled by hatred and homophobia and in each case the suspect was wearing an unusual mask.
Bad Girl Boogey is an intense, bloody slasher that features compelling performances, gruesomely creative kills, and profound commentary on the deadly consequences of allowing bigotry and hatred to go unchecked. The film also has a fun cameo from horror icon Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects). With the impressive work Mackay has done telling queer horror stories with small budgets, it will be exciting to see what she can do with a big budget one day.
Bad Girl Boogey just premiered virtually at the Chattanooga Film Festival. The film will be released in select theaters on July 7th, on digital platforms July 4th, and on DVD July 11th, from Dark Star Pictures.
