She Was So Pretty (2016)-“Alfie” The Napoleon Dynamite of Serial Killers-Fitz of Horror Review

Written by Bryan Fitzgerald (Fitz of Horror) March 19, 2018

Synopsis- Alfred James Ellis III, Alfie for short, is a romantic. His love for women who have struggled is immense. He spends months searching for the perfect girl to become his live-in sweetheart. When he finds one he treats her to all his favorite things, like coffee in the mornings, eating together, curling up to watch vintage cartoons, and, even, slow dancing. He carries three knives in an old briefcase, spends hours brushing hair, loves orange circus peanuts, and likes playing doctor. He spends months just stalking his victims, and finding ways to insert himself into their lives, before he decides to take them. Alfie is looking for love, and Valerie Vestron is looking for a vacation from the nightmare that is her life. When her friends decide to drag her out of town on a trip to a cabin in the woods, they get more than they bargained for.

As a horror movie reviewer my opinions won’t always be the same as others but I feel that it is important to know that I am not a critic so to speak, I am a fan of the genre and when I see and review independent horror movies I don’t always judge on production value or acting, when things aren’t adding up to what I look for in what I consider a “good” indie horror movie, I look for potential and inspiration.

Brooklyn Ewing‘s She Was So Pretty was her first feature effort and it was a truly inspired first effort. She had a vision for a creepy serial killer and she nailed that with Alfred James Ellis III (Jerry Larew). Addressing my “Napoleon Dynamite of serial killers” title, “Alfie” was dressed like a total dork with rape-o glasses and exuded pure awkwardness through the screen but his actions definitely showed that he was a complete psychopath.

The story starts quick with Alfie assaulting and killing a woman in a parking garage and then goes kind of all over the place. We are introduced to a group of friends that decide to take our “Pretty” girl Valerie (Whitlee Flinn) camping but she is quickly snatched up by Alfie and taken to his lair where he can have his way with her, not sexually, but mentally and physically via pain and torture.

This movie is no where near perfect. It has sound and editing flaws, the continuity of the story is off and that makes it hard to stick with it at points and most of the acting is one dimensional (minus our 3 main characters) but the soundtrack is amazing and features so many depressing songs that the movie almost plays out like a series of short and demented music videos that give a lighter insight into our characters.

I personally feel that She Was So Pretty should have been a short film because the story was there as was the inspiration. One constant in the film was following Alfie the serial killer as he did what he did best and that could have been the pure focus of the short film.

I know it sounds like I’m knocking this movie but I most definitely am not. I see huge potential in Brooklyn Ewing and Jerry Larew and this film will no doubt be looked back on as a mini masterpiece when she finally hits the big time with her writing and directing capabilities. She Was So Pretty is a very positive sign of things to come from Brooklyn and Dirt Candy Productions and should be viewed as a very inspired and very smart first effort from a group of people that love and respect the genre.

I am very much looking forward to She Was So Pretty: Be Good For Goodness Sake (Yes it’s a Christmas themed sequel!!) which will be coming out later this year. With returning cast members, this looks to be a great second effort (trailer below). Check out their Facebook page to keep up to date.

Synopsis-Serial Killer, Alfred James Ellis III, has given up on finding love, and joins forces with a psycho cop to wreak havoc on the locals during the Christmas holiday. 

Follow them on Facebook at Dirt Candy Productions, She Was So Pretty and She Was So Pretty: Be Good For Goodness Sake

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