Short Film Review "N.U.N.S. With Nunchucks" Is A Hoot
From Canux Pictures comes Lorenzo “Eightball” Gutiérrez’s delightfully kooky short, N.U.N.S. With Nunchucks! Co-written with Vincenzo Nappi, Gutiérrez and company create an affectionate love letter to the old school exploitation films of the 60s and 70s.
In the distant future, within the city of LOS MUTANTES, FREDA DAVIS and LUCILLE NERO, two spies from the National Union of National Spies (N.U.N.S.), ask BETTY POWELL to help bring down the Catholic Association of Quebec (C.A.Q.) and its oppressive leader, JEANNE VERSACON.
While exploitation films are more a relic of cinema’s past, there are many filmmakers who keep the grindhouse spirit alive (like Bruno Forzani & Hélène Cattet, whose psychedelic-tinged spaghetti western Let The Corpses Tan pumped new blood into the genre). Similar to grindhouse gurus Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, Canadian filmmakers Lorenzo Gutiérrez and Vincenzo Nappi have been fighting the good fight and perpetually championing the exploitation vibe via their own films. Although they’ve supported each other’s projects in the past from a production standpoint, N.U.N.S. With Nunchucks marks their first collaboration together as screenwriters, and their combined creative powers make for a riotously fun throwback.
Somewhat of a cross between Danger 5, Kill Bill, Machete, and Team America: World Police, N.U.N.S. With Nunchucks is playful and inventive at every turn. The film is essentially a spiritual sequel to Gutiérrez’s previous short, Vampire Rebound, with some minor character overlap (via Ernesto Murciélago III), but it takes his grindhouse leanings to delightful new extremes. For one thing, the film finds Gutiérrez expanding on his wonderfully quirky, quasi-futuristic world in ways he hasn’t before. Not only do we get more time with the characters, but we get even more time to bask in the charming absurdity of Gutiérrez’s gonzo happening.
The film follows lady wrestler Betty Powell (Natasha Perry-Fagant) as she’s recruited by the National Union of National Spies (AKA N.U.N.S.). Along with fellow spies Freda Davis (Alejandra Jiménez) and Lucille Nero (Jasmine Winter), the latter of which has X-Ray eyes, Betty helps N.U.N.S. infiltrate the Catholic Association of Quebec (C.A.Q.) to takedown its oppressive leader, Jeanne Versacon (Patty Keach). The film is like a Canadian slant to Trump’s lingering nationalist stink. It plays upon Canada’s rising nationalism and xenophobia, but it approaches this topic in a very fun, lighthearted way that makes it easily digestible despite its inherent heaviness.
Narratively, it doesn’t take itself too seriously (and it’s all the better for it), but it’s very serious about evoking the spirit of old school genre films. From the crackling record-static sound design to the celluloid recreations and old school titles and fonts (and everything in between), Gutiérrez and his team successfully conjure up the throwback charms of 60s/70s era grindhouse. Full of inventive and fun set pieces and costumes, N.U.N.S. works around its modest budget in really creative ways. It manages to hit the high marks it ambitiously sets out to achieve, and it does it with real panache.
Overall, N.U.N.S. With Nunchucks is a fun and enjoyable short film that’s well worth a watch. It’s grindhouse spirit and throwback aesthetic have real charm, and the performances are uniformly solid. All of the actors appear to be having great fun playing their respective colorful, larger-than-life characters, and it’s really infectious. Aside from a few minor moments of drag, its 13-minute runtime just glides by. It finds a humorous send-off that teases the possibility of continued adventures, but it leaves the viewer hanging on a cliff without any sense of resolution, which may be problematic for some viewers.
Recommendation: If you love throwback exploitation films, definitely seek out N.U.N.S. With Nunchucks!
Rating: 4 nuns with nunchucks outta 5.
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!