Enjoyment of Alpha Girls will be completely determined by how you approach it. It has been said that what you get out of a film relates greatly to what you bring to it and that is very much the case here.
Morgan (Falon Joslyn) is a troubled young woman who after changing colleges finds herself trying to join a restricted sorority. After initial humiliation by house leader Veronica (Nikki Bell) she is led to a dingy cellar room where she meets three other new pledges or recruits in Cassidy (Beverly Rivera), Juliette (Nicole Cinaglia) and April (Kara Zhang). Over the following days the girls are subjected to various demeaning challenges and tasks leading to a ritualistic pretend branding ceremony where Veronica reads from a dark book and much chanting ensues. Following this latest trial Cassidy decides to steal the book and summon the dark lord herself with the girls making one demand each while sacrificing a goldfish. Each girls separate wish is granted but to maintain this they must continue to make sacrifices and when Cassidy follows through on a threat to do so to Veronica then the group begins to question their actions and risk the consequences.
If all this sounds a little serious, its not. Alpha Girls is handled with tongue firmly in cheek by writing and directing team Tony Trov and Johnny Zito. Their style could never be described as subtle as they throw more and more blood and gore into the mix as the film progresses. There are hints at lesbianism, plenty of female nudity and wonderfully unrealistic and unbelievable characters which all add to this fantastical and at times bizarre film.
The cast do everything expected of them with no especially weak or stand out member and the script is just the right side of cheesy to avoid too much misplaced or unintentional laughter. There is nothing particularly new or original in Alpha Girls but that is not the point. This is an homage to a type of film that is rarely seen now. At best this is a Corman-esque tribute to an age of exploitation but if there is a problem it is that the filmmakers just haven’t gone far enough.
In my opinion if you are going to make a film like Alpha Girls and draw from these influences then it should be more gratuitous and indulgent. Apart from some scenes of nudity and the bloody murders there is nothing on screen pushing the boundaries of taste and decency and I think there were definitely opportunities.
OVERALL SUMMARY
You will either love this film or hate it, I don’t think there is much middle ground. Watch on a Friday or a Saturday night with a few beers and some popcorn and you’ll have some fun.
