“Poundcake” (2023) [GenreBlast Film Festival]

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Onur Tukel’s social satire comedy/horror Poundcake courtesy of the GenreBlast Film Festival.

Synopsis

There’s a madman loose in New York City. Late at night, he stalks the streets looking for straight white men to punish. When he finds them, he kills them in unspeakable ways. Some make light of it, others think it's just a conspiracy, but the truth will surprise everyone.

The Good

Joseph: The idea of a film in which a masked man stalks the streets of New York City to find victims to sodomize to death while strangling them with a chain may sound rather grim, but director Onur Tukel’s politically charged Poundcake (U.S., 2023) uses this set-up for savage satire and markedly uneasy laughter. The maniac’s victims are all straight white males, which leads to commentary galore, including podcasters who go for mordant “It’s about time” humor or others who see it as a conspiracy to garner sympathy for white males. Meanwhile, a pair of Black parents address their gay son’s life choices, and a husband (Tukel) and his wife deal with the man’s long-time bi-curiosity. Turkel tackles all this and more, juggling everything intriguingly

Mike: As a straight, white guy I should probably be offended by Poundcake since it portrays those that fall into the same broad category that I do as the bad guys. However, since I have never encountered anything that I find offensive, I just sorta laughed and figured “okay, I guess it’s about time ‘we’ got ours”.

Tukel has written and filmed a script that isn’t afraid to push buttons and the proof of this isn’t just in metaphors, analogies, allegories, or any other kind of “ors” or “ies” - his character in the film comes right out and says “Everything should be on the table, every conversation. People should overshare. That’s how we solve problems, by talking things out.” To do this, there is a talented group of actors bringing the characters to life and presenting us with satirical archetypes that do an excellent job in delivering the message that Tukel is looking to send.

The Bad

Joseph: Nothing negative for me to say here regarding the filmmaking, but certainly the easily offended will find plenty to complain about.

Mike: Disguised as a comedic “horror” movie that is lumped into the slasher sub-genre, what Tukel really delivers here is a large mirror for us to look into and take a good look at ourselves, allowing us to see our biases and how even those that are marginalized by one group have another group that they themselves look down upon. While this in and of itself is outrageously humorous at times and wickedly satirical at others, the one thing it ISN’T is a slasher. Yes it has elements of a slasher film, but this is a case where it only occasionally looks like a duck and never walks like a duck, so some people may feel a bit misled if they were hoping for, say, Art the Clown killing white guys.

The Verdict

Joseph: Poundcake casts a waggish eye on modern society, with killings galore throughout. Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, and Zarius LeGrand are part of the terrific ensemble cast. The film has something to offend pretty much everyone, so if you are in the mood for masked maniac horror with razor-sharp political satire and uncomfortable humor, Turkel’s latest should scratch that itch.

Mike: If you’re in the mood for a film that throws our biases and prejudices onto the table and you aren’t easily offended, you will most likely enjoy Poundcake and find a lot to take away from it, however the only horror you’re really going to find here is the horror in which the majority of society allows their anger and fear of those that are different to control them.

Poundcake screens as part of GenreBlast Film Festival 2023, which runs August 31–September 2, 2023, in Winchester, Virginia. For more information, visit https://www.genreblast.com/.

Poundcake