These Femmes are Fatal! And That’s How I Like It… Cinemax’s Femme Fatales Reviewed

I just got back from Comic-Con 2012 folks and I’m here with a review of the Cinemax After Dark episodic thriller Femme Fatales. Honestly, prior to the lead in for San Diego’s biggest convention relating to all things media, I had very little knowledge of the show or it’s contents. Being given the opportunity to interview select members of the cast afforded me the chance to open my eyes to the truly exciting, well written, and empowering series that depicts women in a power role that escapes so many shows on television today.

Here’s the way the shows creators describe their labor of love :

“Femme Fatales is a cult smash , a badass chick anthology series in a film noir style similar to sin city with a Tarantino spin. A sexy & thrilling episodic anthology series about powerful, dangerous women inspired by & styled in the tradition of pulp stories & graphic novels. Each episode is a half hour in length, inspired by Pulp Fiction, Double Indemnity, and the classic series The Twilight Zone. Each stand alone episode has women finding extraordinary ways of coping with their issues, channeling their inner survival instincts & bringing out their inner guile. Every episode is introduced by a mysterious and enigmatic host, Lilith, played by Tanit Phoenix, and features different casts and storylines.”

Guest stars have included:

Vivica A. Fox, Jeff Fahey, Eric Roberts, Casper Van Dien, Antonio Sabato Jr, Kyle Glass, Steve Railsback, Leilani Serelle, Robert LaSardo, Reggie Hayes, Dean Haglund, Charlie O’Connell, Robert Picardo, and Oscar nominated director Paul Mazursky.

Those are just a few of the notables I’ve listed above.

As mentioned in the description, the show is done episodically so, obviously, each episode is a stand alone story. You can jump in at any time not feeling lost but you are definitely missing out if you don’t watch each episode. It’s that good. Seriously. If you like women who kick men’s asses – those who definitely deserve it – you REALLY need to check this series out!

I had the pleasure of interviewing several cast members, and definitely enjoyed every single moment. Everyone associated with the show was honestly so down to earth I almost forgot I was speaking with seasoned stars. Even their publicist, Jamie Falkowitz was stellar as I almost mistook her as a cast member. There was a lot of info given so I’ll stick with what I felt was the most essential.

Adam Huss was the first person I spoke to and was surprised to be interviewing a male cast member since if you’re a man on this series, you tend to have an imminent end. Adam was delightfully laid back. He and I actually spoke for roughly 15 minutes and the first five or so were about Comic-Con. We share a common fan boy love for Superman and he was excited to hear my positive feedback regarding the upcoming “Man Of Steel – Superman” film but I digress. Adam will be in the season two finale called ” Libra” (Airing August 10th) where he will be teaming up with a female vigilante who creates her own super hero like identity to avenge her mother’s death at the hands of her own gangster father.

Now here’s a cool bit of information I was given by all the cast members:

Season one episodes didn’t really have any attachment to one another. Season 2 is going to have a bit more of an all encompassing story arc in some ways. We will see some characters return and potentially team up in episodes and some stories may carry over later in seasons to continue their journeys. Very cool and a welcome addition. Also starring in the finale for season two are Betsy Rue and Ilia Volok. This is an episode I absolutely can’t wait to see and it will be one hour long, so we can anticipate a great story with a lot of drama. Thank you Adam for all the amazing information and the kind words.

Next up, I interviewed a woman who quickly became my favorite cast member and sadly she is only in one episode for season two. Let’s hope she comes back for more. It was impossible not to fall for Kristen DeLuca immediately. This siren has been on Entourage, Fast & Furious, Dance Flick, CSI Miami, It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia, House M.D. , and has several other projects coming out soon such as Trophy, Tentacle 8, Random Encounters and more. Kristen explained that in her episode titled “Hell Hath No Furies” (Airing August 3rd), she will play a fiery shotgun wielding fatale. A woman will be brought into jail on Christmas Eve to be interrogated by the Assistant D.A. who believes she knows the identity of the mysterious El Jefe, a feared crime boss who is attempting to take over Cuesta Verde.

We also spoke about her upcoming projects, and what she thought of Comic-Con. Unfortunately the cast has very little time to socialize on their own so Kristen, like other members of the cast, were only able to experience the Con in very limited doses on a personal level.

The last notable interview was with beauty Catherine Annette. She has been seen in Six Figures, Super Shark, Operation Belvis Bash, Nobody Can Cool, Duel of Destiny, and has noobz, Monster School, and Spreading Darkness coming down the pike soon.  Her interview was as down to earth as the rest. She has appeared in four episodes where she plays  a character named Tiffany, who is a bit of a cerebral assassin of sorts. Ringleader fits best really. She accomplishes her goals by utilizing superior intellect and manipulation.

In her first episode, Girl Gone Dead, Jay Roma and his cameraman Kip, pull up at the dilapidated Theta Alpha Nu sorority house, which is far from campus. The girls, led by Tiffany, Alexis and Erida, have agreed to perform for Jay’s “Crazy Chixx” camera in exchange for the money to fix their house. The girls start swigging vodka and stripping; Jay and Kip take two of them upstairs to film a little girl-on-girl action for the show. Later, Kip checks out some of the upstairs rooms and notices that they are unfurnished; he discovers that the vodka bottles hold only water. He quizzes Erida about this when she comes looking for him. She replies with a hammer blow to the head, killing Kip. Meanwhile, the other girls escort Jay to the basement and seductively swarm him, en masse. When they cuff him, Jay thinks it’s sexy; when they tie a noose around his neck, throw one end over a rafter and stand Jay on a block of ice, he gets nervous. Tiffany reveals that all the “sisters” were stars of Jay’s earlier shows: he got them drunk and intimidated them into doing sexually explicit things on camera. The exposure ruined their lives and, in the case of one coed – Caroline – resulted in suicide. The girls train a camera on Jay and leave him to his fate, which is broadcast live on the Internet.  Her other three episodes are equally well done.

All and all the show is what is wants to be: A female driven noir styled ride that promises retribution and delivers it in multiple ways. Each episode has it’s own message, it’s own complications, and it’s own remedy. Thankfully it’s not the same thing over done week in and week out like other shows I’ve been forced to sit through. Simpsons? Dear god enough already! Family Guy is close behind in that respect as well but I digress yet again…

Femme Fatales is worth a watch for sure but definitely not for younger viewers. That said, if you haven’t seen it yet you’re severely missing out on a good ride with a bevy of beauties who kick ass and take names as the icing on this sexy cake.

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Tony Manchen

Tony Manchen is an avid Console & PC gamer who has a passion for making sure the gaming public has the information he feels is necessary to make an informed decision.

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