Indie filmmaker Onur Tukel (Summer of Blood, Applesauce, Catfight) has a lot to say in his latest, Poundcake, a horror satire that mixes slasher with political discourse.
Fans of Tukel know that his films have always been heavy on commentary, and this one is sure to get a rise out of people.
In the film, 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.
Tukel stars alongside Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Zarius LeGrand, and others.
Poundcake is inspired by slashers of the 80s and icons like Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, and Leatherface, Tukel tells us. “In a slasher movie, the villain murders someone every eight or nine minutes and there’s a climax where the killer is revealed and/or dispatched.” Other inspirations include Spike Lee’s 1998 feature film Summer of Sam because “David Berkowitz’s murders take place in the background as multiple narratives unfold during the movie,” and Oliver Stone’s Talk Radio.
Tukel wants to make sure it’s 100% clear that Poundcake is a satire. “It’s pretty obvious what it’s satirizing.”
Check out the trailer…
Full synopsis:
“In New York City, however, nothing is unspeakable. Plenty of people in the bustling metropolis have something to say about it, especially the podcasters, who use their platforms to opine about the serial killer and his victims. Some think the victims are getting what they deserve. Aren’t straight white men responsible for a majority of the world’s problems? They run fortune 500 companies that pollute the environment. They’ve run countries who have started devastating wars. They’ve built a system of capitalism that is racist and oppressive.
“Some think the serial killer isn’t real and that the news outlets have fabricated the murders to garner sympathy for white folks. Besides, who owns most of the newspapers and corporate news outlets? It’s not the Blacks or the Asians or the Arabs. And since people are finally holding straight white men accountable for centuries of oppression, this would be the perfect excuse for them to play the victim instead.
“Some think it’s all a fucking joke. A serial killer targeting straight white men? Who cares? It’s about time the shoe was on the other foot.
“But this is the kind of negativity that the serial killer feeds on. It makes him stronger. The more vitriol there is towards straight white men, the more bloodthirsty he becomes. If the people of New York don’t cast aside their bitterness and embrace a more positive mindset, they might never stop the killer, which the cynics have dubbed ‘Poundcake!’
“Still, life goes on. And in New York, people are dealing with their own dramas. As Poundcake continues his slaughter, there are millions of people just trying to get through another day. In New York though, everything is connected. Straight white men might be the only ones losing their lives, but everyone else is losing their humanity.”
