LILITH ** USA 2018 Dir: Alexander T Hwang. 90 mins
“We are all Lilith…We are everywhere…” A sadly inadequate female-driven anthology horror film for the #MeToo era, framed with a cackling Felissa Rose in the title role and some dull cops investigating a series of gruesome deaths. The overarching theme is of the punishment awaiting the “monsters of men” by various incarnations of Lilith – in this case, adulterers and all-purpose misogynists are those marked for death.
The first story gets bogged down in a dreary teen soap opera plot of a pretty student shunned by the teacher who knocked her up and leched over by her horny male peers. Eye poking just-desserts follow. Next up, 80’s action movie villain Vernon Wells is a sick old war veteran whose new caregiver takes the form of his late wife thanks to Lilith’s plans to usher him into Hell. The final two stories focus on a serial cheater whose pride in never getting caught is thwarted by a “freaky” girl with whom he hooks up with, and a middle-aged serial killer who finally picks the wrong female victim to mess with. Rose has fun blaspheming, mocking holy water and ripping off limbs, but the potentially fun premise is squandered on bland execution and mostly uninventive punishments for the sleazy, nasty menfolk.
Review by Steven West