Karen's Pageant Horror

Karen's Pageant Horror

Bruce Von Stiers

Beauty pageants are still around. But today's pageants aren't like the ones of yesteryear, with Burt Parks hosting and belting out “here she comes, Miss America.” Gone too, for the most part, are the swimsuit competitions. And the daunting, and sometimes haunting, talent portion of the pageants have become more sophisticated and somewhat activist oriented.

There have been comedy films about beauty pageants such as Miss Congeniality and Drop Dead Gorgeous. There was also the comedy, Smile, which had a scene where the contestant's talent was packing a suitcase. Apparently that scene was based on a true story of a talent presentation by a beauty pageant contestant. And there have been drama and mystery films with beauty pageants as their foundation.

And, not to be left out, there have been horror films with beauty pageants such as Blood Pageant and the twisted cult classic, Beauty Pageant Butcher.

This year there is a new horror film with beauty pageants as its central theme. The title of the film is Karen The Beauty Pageant Butcher.

The film opens with a woman, Amanda, walking down the street, late at night, with a crown in her hands. She is being followed by someone in a hooded raincoat. She turns around and the person starts going the other way. Then Amanda is in her apartment. She's on the phone with another woman who asks about the beauty contest that she was in.

Then, when she is in the shower, the hooded person gets into the apartment. They are carrying a sledge hammer and destroys the beauty crown, which was on the kitchen counter. Amanda hears the noise and goes into the hallway outside her door. Nothing there, she goes back inside. Then she is brutally attacked. There is blood and gore galore.

I've got to say right here that if you are squeamish about seeing blood gushing from wounds and the associated gore from an attack, this isn't the film for you. In certain scenes in the film, there is an over abundance of blood being spilled and a lot of gory stuff.

The film centers around a beauty pageant contest named, of course, Karen. She is a raven haired beauty, possibly around her mid to late thirties. Karen is also a descendant of Puerto Rico, so she has that slight ‘Rican accent and the volatility to go with it.

Karen has aspirations of being beauty pageant queen. Her ultimate goal is to become Miss America. But she has to start somewhere, so first she has to win the Miss Yonkers competition. Then win the beauty contests from the other New York boroughs.

One thing that stands in Karen's way, so she thinks, is her husband, Ted. He makes all the wrong meals and buys all the wrong groceries. And he constantly wants sex, which apparently Karen is depriving him of.

Hosting and judging these local pageants is Stan and his buddy Spike. They are definitely low rent dudes, but they have this whole pageant schtick down. Karen is always trying to best buds with the guys, but they're trying to be somewhat professional.

As the film moves along there are more murders of pageant contestants. Karen is the beneficiary of the murders. Two police detectives, Harris and William, are trying to solve the murders, but with no success. They are under a lot of pressure as one of the contestants was the daughter of an honored detective from their precinct. And when there is a revelation about who the murderer is, this only elevates Karen's status.

The film's conclusion is a pure gore fest. A lot of stabbing, bashing and slashing. Gallons of blood and buckets full of gore.

Jasmin Flores was Karen. Aside from appearing films like Monsters In The Closet, Jasmin has been in several theatrical productions and models as well.

Scott Bolger was Ted, Karen's husband. Scott has played a cowboy, a cop and a love interest in the various films he's been in.

Philip Green was the police detective Harris. He's played both a mafia goon and a butler in other films. Joseph David Surico was the other police detective, William. Among his many roles, he's played a dad, a police chief and a teacher.

Chiko Mendez was Stan, the promoter and head judge of the beauty pageants. He is a musician, songwriter, vocalist and actor. He starred in the horror film, Sacrificial. Shaun May was Spike, the other judge, and tech guy for the pageants. He appeared in the horror action film Blood Mixed and co-starred in the comedy Superbadazz. Sarah Marable was Gladstone, someone who Stan brought in to help judge the pageants. She was in a couple of episodes of Gossip Girl and one of The Equalizer.

Suicide Knives was Amanda, the first pageant contestant murdered. She is otherwise known as Khi Maree, and has the lead singer for the Australian bands, the Cunties and The Beatniks. This is her first IMDB screen credit.

Saint Nikole was Michelle, the second victim, and the police detective's daughter. In addition to acting, she is a musical artist and model. Tom Cikoski was her dad, the detective. He also appeared in Superbadazz and Monsters in the Closet.

Tremayne Miller was Sapphire, another pageant contestant, and victim. She is a musical artist and composer in addition to acting. Laur-ee Tacony was Barbie, another victim, who is a favored contestant, having won several pageants. John Fiduccia was Luis , a guy that Karen tricks into confessing to Barbie's murder. When not acting, he does stand-up comedy. Speaking of stand-up, comedian Caren Lioce was an annoying reporter in the film.

Luiza Zob, Ajna Wysowski, Arianna Lee and Kitty all played beauty pageant contestants who were murdered. Yes, there were a lot of contestants murdered to make way for Karen to get her pageant queen crown.

Also appearing in the film were Bridget Barnes, Tyler Okusi and Ethan Jovanovic. Mark Tambone has an interesting time as Ted's cellmate in jail.

The film was written and produced by Jasmin Flores and Zachary Snygg. It was directed by Snygg. His previous work as a director includes films such as Circle of Fury and Monsters In The Closet.

Karen The Beauty Queen Butcher is a bit of gruesome fun. It's not your typical slasher film, but has elements of one. The slicing and dicing of the contestants could be a bit much for some people though. And there is a lot of blood flowing during those scenes, and some gore too.

Even though it wasn't billed as a comedy horror film, there were quite a few comedic moments in it.

My only complaint about the film is that Karen's voice as a bit annoying at times. In some of the scenes the character seemed a bit too whiney. But that's just me.

Karen The Beauty Queen Butcher is now available on Amazon Prime. It will be available on Tubi sometime in the near future.

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