Picked up and released by Troma, which just about says it all, Jessicka Rabid is the kind of irredeemable, hateful trash that gives horror films a bad name. The mute Jessicka (Elske McCain, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead) is literally treated like a dog by her male cousins-cum-captors (Mega Scorpions’ Jeff Sissons and The Pact II’s Trent Haaga). She is kept caged, fed dog food, hosed down in the bath and, when she needs to do her business outside, leashed by the neck. Every now and then, she is drugged so she can be pimped out to a porn director (played by this movie’s director, Matthew Reel).
And then there’s a lesbian scene in which Jessicka is seduced by the ol’ “peanut butter on the nipples” trick. Finally, she turns the tables on her masters. And the point is …?
I could not find one, other than a means for misogynist, filth-wallowing by featuring-debuting Reel (following such aggro shorts such as American Asshole and All the French Are Whores). The viewer would feel as used as McCain, if not for the fact that she co-wrote the damn thing with Reel, so you feel used for her.
A strong argument against DIY movies, Jessicka Rabid does have one tick mark in the plus column: the pun of its title. Whereas Who Framed Roger Rabbit’s Jessica Rabbit was famous for purring, “I’m not bad. I’m just drawn that way,” Jessicka Rabid is drawn to be bad. —Rod Lott