Among the many films belonging to body horror, Painkiller is definitely a good title that well enhances this particular subgenre aimed at exploring the mutation of the body, its degenerative deformities in conjunction with the psychological decline of the victim. Awarded Best Short Film at the 2015 HorrorHound Film Fest (Cincinnati, Ohio), a festival where it received nominations for Best Director and Best Actress, among others, Painkiller is a short horror film directed in 2014 by Jeremiah Kipp (here our interview), an American director, screenwriter and producer who has a dense and brilliant filmography behind him (Berenice, Contact, Crestfallen, The Minions…).
Described by the director himself as a "body horror meets Fight Club." Painkiller draws on the mutation of the flesh, a theme dear to David Cronenberg, thus paying homage to the cinema of the famous Canadian director and screenwriter. About 15 minutes in length, this short film combines body horror and psychological terror excellently. The result is an unhealthy story of addiction and abuse in which pain is the starting point of the research carried out by two scientists (Kelly Rae Legault and Thomas Mendolia) who intend to find a radical solution to end human suffering. The pair creates an organism in the laboratory that feeds on the pain of the host into which it is implanted and has the ability to turn physical pain into pleasure. Little do the two researchers know, however, that their cure also has dangerous side effects that will be difficult to cope with.
In a film like Painkiller, in which suffering begets suffering, it is difficult to remain insensitive. In fact, the organism that feeds on physical pain also generates other types of relationships (sadistic and masochistic), which, as paraphilias inherent in the suffering of the body, tie in well with the underlying theme of Kipp's film. Expert direction and a simple but sound screenplay (by Jerry Janda) are the strongest points of this intense short film about pain in which, in addition to the clear Cronenbergian homage, a personal journey is glimpsed. Reason, the latter, that makes the vision of Painkiller pleasantly interesting thanks in part to the enjoyable special effects and make-up done by Daniel J. Mazikowski and a decent level of acting by the cast, which includes Kelly Rae Legault, Thomas Mendolia, Jill Di Donato and the film's own screenwriter and executive producer, Jerry Janda.
