It's not easy to pull off, but a lot of indie filmmakers are going the goofy comedy/splatter horror hybrid route. A special brand of filmmaking that was nearly perfected by Troma (a love it or hate it affair, I know), it's a special kinda movie making that's hard to duplicate. Filmmaker Andy Signore plays the part of 'man who wears many hats' in one such production, entitled The Janitor. Andy manages to pull off a leading role in the film, in addition with screenwriting, editing and co-producer/co-director credits (along with TJ Nordaker). How does the Janitor hold up in the end? The answer is pretty damn well.

A simple story really, about the abused and often neglected 'men of cleaning,' The Janitor is really a revenge tale that is not quite like any other. Lionel (played by Signore) is 1/2 of a 2-part cleaning team at an anonymous office. I'm not quite sure what the people at the office do, but that's not really important here. What is important however, is that Lionel is abused, made fun of and pissed on (literally) by the office inhabitants. When he's not cleaning, he's killing and when he's not killing he's shacked up in the janitor's closet with co-worker Mr. Growbo (Bruce Cronander), pining for a young lady that works at the office named Hillary (Fiona McIntyre).

After murdering a hooker, Lionel enlists the help of Growbo to reclaim a semen sample (extracted from the dead hookers severed head) that will surely do Lionel in. The two janitors have bonded on many levels by this point, but once Lionel may have secured a new job at 'TNA Sorority House,' jealousy sets in and its every janitor for himself. It all comes to an obnoxious end at what can only be described as a 'real' Sorority House massacre and one that truly lives up to its name. Quite fun to say the least.

What we have here is low brow comedy at its finest, with a healthy dose of splatter thrown in for good measure. Think American Pie with lots of blood and guts and you'll start to understand where I'm coming from. While I am not a fan of the aforementioned Pie flick (or its sequels), I have quickly become a fan of The Janitor and Signore/Nordaker's fun (if not fully unique) brand of filmmaking. I mentioned Troma earlier, so it would also fit to make mention of a cameo by Troma head honcho Lloyd Kaufman, as a wino who has his arms ripped off. Many have tried, but few have succeeded in taking the Troma formula and making it work as their own, but in the end The Janitor comes pretty damn close.

Juvenile and amateurish, this (to me at least) is all part of the films charm. Definitely nothing to take too seriously, The Janitor is at the very least one hell of a fun time, and the flick easily delivers on all of its promises. Shallow as it may be, you get your boobs, your blood, and your gross out humor, nothing more, nothing less. And for this, I had a great time hanging out with The Janitor. Acting is at times a bit over the top and hammy, but still, this just stands to enhance the outrageousness of it all.

Presented full frame, The Janitor looks just about as one would expect a shot on video horror/comedy hybrid to look. Audio is clear and cleanly mixed, a nice treat for an indie flick. A few scenes contain dialogue that was looped (it's painfully obvious) but it's only a few moments and isn't too distracting. Included with the flick in this limited run DVD, is the films trailer. Extremely gory, gross and exploitative (most of all fun) The Janitor is highly recommended. Especially for those who have understood what I've written up until this point and know exactly what they are getting themselves into.

www.janitormovie.com