Chemical Peel

**_Six women in a cabin-in-the-woods of SoCal and… something toxic_** "Chemical Peel" (2014) only cost $20,000, but it’s so proficiently made it doesn’t feel like a micro-budget Indie. It comes in the tradition of “Carriers” from five years earlier with the main difference being that this is a ‘confined location’ flick. In other words, the bulk of the runtime involves the house-in-the-sticks and the dramatics of the females. Speaking of which, blonde Natalie Victoria stands out on the beauty front as protagonist Rae. Meanwhile statuesque redhead Arielle Brachfeld is a real biyatch as Angela, but it happens. Leigh Davis is also worth a mention as Kimberly. Too bad the director didn’t know how to shoot women. At about the 18-minute mark the situation takes a life-or-death turn and the story becomes very compelling. It morphs into a body horror flick and is hampered by the one-dimensional location, but it’s worth checking out for those interested. It runs about 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in the Greater Los Angeles area at Glendale, Ojai, Semi Valley and Hollywood. GRADE: B-