H6: Diary of a Serial Killer Movie Review

Well that was a little strange.

H6 is the story, courtesy of Venezuela, of a convicted murderer, finally released from prison after doing 25 years of time. He inexplicably inherits an old, former brothel), takes a wife, and turns room six into something disturbing: He lines the walls and floors with plastic, and -- thanks to voices from above -- decides to free the town of its plague of streetwalkers and bums.

Our Antonio (Fernando Acaso) lures them in with the promise of room and board, outfits them in fancy lingerie, then straps them to the table in room 6 where he repeatedly rapes them. The film is nearly halfway over when he finally gets rid of the first of the girls, hacking her into 14 pieces with a chainsaw. Then he cleans things up and starts again.

Despite some disturbing scenes, H6 is remarkably tame compared to its self-created reputation. The gore is almost completely off camera, and sequences like Antonio serving fried brains to his wife have been done before. The film isn't exactly tame -- it'll be plenty off-putting to anyone who's not a regular viewer of splatter flicks -- but it's nothing so shocking as to appall most viewers.

The film takes an odd turn in its final reel as Antonio slips up and gets caught, then attempts to cash in on his actions through his meticulously written and photographed diary of his exploits. (Hence the title.) Alas, this doesn't quite come together with the rest of the film, and it pushes the movie almost into satire.

Genre fans will probably enjoy H6 but casual moviegoers could probably do just as well reaching into the horror section at the video store and picking something at random.

Aka H6: Diario de un asesino, H6: Diary of an Assassin.