Amazon
Prime has this listed as Killer Workout, but Aerobi-cide is the actual on-screen
title. Both names are equally funny. I can’t blame the filmmakers for being unable
to choose between them. They were
probably like, “Screw it, let’s use both of them!” Maybe if they ever make a sequel it can be
called Gym-crazy-um. Or Kill-lates. Or Yoga-nna Die.
Rhonda (Marica Karr) had a twin sister who died in a horrific tanning bed accident. Now, people are getting murdered at the gym by a killer using an oversized safety pin. Predictably, the place is loaded with hotheaded musclebound suspects.
Aerobi-cide
begins with a great opening credits theme that sound like a workout remix of
John Carpenter’s Halloween theme. Along
the way, director David A. Prior gives us numerous cheesy ‘80s aerobicizing
scenes featuring big-haired women crammed into Spandex bobbing up and down to heavy
drum machine-driven tunes. Yes, in case you’re wondering, there are tons of close-ups of gyrating
buttocks.
The
horror elements work up to a point. The
opening tanning bed murder is great, and there’s a Psycho-inspired shower death
and a memorable false scare involving a locker. Some scenes have a cool red tint to them,
resembling a ‘70s giallo, but most of it looks like your typical slasher movie
mixed with an ‘80s workout video. The
killer’s weapon (the giant safety pin) is… different? I can honestly say I’ve never seen that
before.
Too
bad the constant fistfights between the two hotheaded lunkhead gym rat suspects
eat up a lot of screen time. These
scenes are more of a throwback to Prior’s low-budget actioners and don’t really
fit in with the rest of the movie. (Same
goes for the big chase scene/shootout at a construction site.) Still, they’re just weird enough to make it
memorable.
Aerobi-cide
is good for a few laughs and works as lightweight trashy fun for much of its
running time. It does have a tendency to
plod on in the second half, making the 85-minute running time feel much
longer. (There are two or three false
endings too many.) It’s uneven to be
sure, but the highs are appropriately cheesy enough to make it marginally recommended.
AKA: Killer Workout. AKA:
Aerobic Killer. AKA: Aerobicide.
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