Royal Kill

Plot

A fearsome warrior from the Kingdom of Samarza arrives in America to assassinate a high school girl. The girl does not know it, but she is the last living heir to the Kingdom. A noble guard arrives in America to protect the young princess.

Cast

Notes

Viral video

On April 7, 2009, the producers of Royal Kill held an informal press conference with the film's director, lead actress, and composer. In addition, two supposed "experts" were present to discuss the Nepalese royal massacre as the basis for the story. When the topic was brought up, a woman in the audience started to berate one of the experts before approaching her and slamming her head into a table. A brief fight ensued before the attacker was pulled away. She then hopped into a waiting car.

Video of the incident was posted to YouTube and other internet video sites, eventually getting viewed millions of times. Some suspected that it was staged.

In fact, both women involved were professional wrestlers hired to do a stunt in hopes of attracting attention to the low-budget film. The attacker was noted wrestler Shelly Martinez. A video later appeared showing the participants rehearsing and discussing the incident.

Release

Royal Kill had a limited release in some AMC Theatres in the United States. It was one of the lowest-budgeted movies ever to play at AMC. After a successful first week in theaters, Royal Kill's theatrical run was extended to a second and then a third week.

Reception

The film opened to extremely poor reviews. Dan Zak of The Washington Post called it "deliriously bad filmmaking" and an "utter failure", writing, "Royal Kill needs to be seen to be believed, but don't see it, under any circumstances".