One of the main films on my radar for Chatt Film Fest 2023 was a slasher flick from Onur Tukel POUNDCAKE. Mainly because I felt this film would either be a work of cult art or a f**ing shit show. Honestly, it felt nicely right in the middle somewhere. POUNDCAKE is bananas and makes no damn sense. Though to say it wasn't entertaining would be a lie. For some reason, I felt as if Micheal Che made this terribly "woke" of a slasher as white straight or "cis" men are the number one target.
Even Mindy Kaling couldn't think of more terrible things to say about straight white men as the subject matter in POUNDCAKE. The killer does exactly that. He pounds his victims to death in some agonizing sodomy sadistic hell. I'm also wondering if he really needs the chain. The story is really told by a group of podcasters in the NYC area that provide hilarious updates on the killings.
The podcasters really stick out in POUNDCAKE as they speak to the commentary of the landscape. The film is about a killer raping straight men to death yet there are still jokes, questions, and disbelief on if these events are tragic at all. Do all white men deserve to answer for the crimes of so many of their white male counterparts? The film flips back and forth through this social commentary during the mass and outrageous killings. It's also the only subject in POUNDCAKE that adds more substance to it.
Believe me, POUNDCAKE is not a movie I will revisit anytime soon but you better believe I'm going to promote it. How could you not want anyone to see this ridiculous movie? Even Turkels role is over the top in trying to bring clarity to the message being presented. That message is that it's possible we all still have some hate in our hearts or fear of others for being different. All you need to kill the beast is love!
2/5
POUNDCAKE played at this year's CHATTANOOGA FILM FESTIVAL