It’s Christmas in Cuesta Verde, so that means we got some gifts for you today! In the latest installment of Femme Fatales, it looks like we are getting a bit old school up in this joint. From the get go, you’ll notice the look and feel to be a bit different. That’s right boys and girls, we are seeing Femme Fatales in a new manner: Grindhouse style. And guess what people, it works like a charm and makes you wonder why didn’t they get to this sooner?
The story goes like this: Lydia (Diana Torres) is a mistress of El Jefe (Asher Deva), and she has got some information that could put him away for good. Unfortunately, she approaches the authorities on Christmas Eve and they decide to lock her up until further notice. There’s a reason this episode is called ‘Bad Christmas’ because you know some crap is about to go down. It’s other name is ‘Hell Hath No Furies’, which is reference to the three-woman assassin squad being sent into the jail to take care of Lydia.
Yeah, you don’t want to mess with these girls: Isabelle (Sierra Love), Candela (Crystle Lightning, who apparently was in 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up, so I now want to rewatch that), and Beverly (Kristen Deluca). They are easily my favorite part of the episode because you feel that they are destined to be great recurring characters in case you need a bombshell hit squad. Anyways, these ladies there for Lydia after she meets with the the Judge Aldrich (Raymond Forchion), and US Attorney Chris Wade (Brady Matthews) with evidence to take El Jefe down. She is now in lockdown at the jail awaiting her fate, and claiming ‘it’s not safe there’. Throw in a creepy prison guard (Christian Levantino) and some shotguns and looks like we got ourselves a fun overnighter at the Cuesta Verde station.
The reason this episode is so enjoyable is the concept of Femme Fatales, which is centered around the women and how they handle their business in an independent, if not deadly, manner and the joy they derive from controlling the situation to where they reap the benefits. There has to be a translatable joy to the audience and this episode delivers because it seems that in this Grindhouse format, everyone is having fun. I’ve already mentioned the Furies, and they just enjoy inflicting pain and death upon others in what would be a ridiculous fashion but again, that’s the whole joy of it. They get to be over the top and just go with the flow and it doesn’t seem forced at all. The episode is amazingly shot to reflect nostalgia of the old cinema, and is homage heavy in how the music and camerawork is reflected. As I said before, this genre fits perfectly in this universe because despite all the other episodes with the betrayals and seriousness, this one just embraces the absurdity and just enjoys the ride. Darin Scott, who both wrote and directed, did a fantastic job of incorporating all the elements of a good Grindhouse flick.
We need more episodes like this because it involves guns, girls, humor and just pure unadulterated fun. You can tell the filmmakers enjoyed doing this episode because it felt injected with good energy, and the actors seemed to enjoy their roles without having to worry too much about the details. Even the end credit sequence is awesome as it digs into good TV show nostalgia. The corny Christmas song at the end just worked because of the whole concept. Hell, even the James Bond end was an awesome touch. If you can’t tell, nostalgia is the way to my heart and definitely, this was a great episode to watch. Bring the Furies back!
Oh yeah, I knew I forgot something…
Grizzly Bomb 
Who is the girl in the sex scene at 3:24 with El Jefe? I didn’t see any credits for her…..
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