Three friends take a dark journey into murder, mayhem and movie-making in this raw and unflinching experimental feature film.Three friends take a dark journey into murder, mayhem and movie-making in this raw and unflinching experimental feature film.Three friends take a dark journey into murder, mayhem and movie-making in this raw and unflinching experimental feature film.
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- TriviaBanned on Amazon Prime for "disturbing content" such as "persistent or graphic sexually explicit or violent acts, unsettling content, excessive violence intended to shock the viewer, glorifies illegal sexual acts, promotes or incites the viewer to engage in dangerous or harmful acts, glorifies and or promotes illegal or controlled drug use and illegal activities".
Featured review
Subversive, Shocking and Stellar
Let me preface the following with these facts about myself : I have a majors in both behavioral and abnormal psychology and have been a clinical social worker for several years. I also love strange and obscure pieces of horror cinema, especially things that are challenging and non-mainstream, and I belong to a number of forums on the subject, which is where I discovered this hidden gem.
The movie begins with a literal backyard book burning, symbolizing the death of art ("entertainment"), which sets the tone for the coming bender of anarchy.
The protagonist, Paxton, lashes out at those who show a lack of appreciation for such entertainments. In his mind he wants to save the world and he thinks that a good start is to show the world that there is "another side to reality" (as he says in the film) , by taking a video camera out into the world and documenting a malicious crime spree, but in the stark black & white reality he inhabits he is actually, and quite frighteningly, a dangerous psychopath.
He is prone to random outbursts of violence, yet he can barely contain his unbridled enthusiasm for creating something unique combined with a thirst for savage beauty and he sees himself as a metaphorical "dragon trying to save the world". I feel like there is a strange music going on that only he can hear. Like a joke where you're the only one who thinks it's funny because you came up with it. The actor portraying Paxton did an incredible job here. He is often times soft-spoken, considerate and thoughtful in his remarks. But at other times, which is the majority of the time, he is a mad dog. I completely bought his performance, he often took interactions with other characters to an extreme or unexpected place and he made me uncommonly uncomfortable more than a few times.
Paxton is joined by two cohorts, a depraved and detached femme fatale named Consider, and the moral compass of the movie, Miller. Sort of a "devil and angel" on Paxton's shoulders kind of relationship. Consider routinely suggests horrific ideas of torment while Miller remains mostly passive and just wants to go home.
Consider (an interesting name choice) is the polar opposite of Miller. She represents Paxton's Id, the "devil on his shoulder". At one point, Consider gleefully blows bubbles at the main victim and often sexualizes repulsive situations, aided by her use of inhalants most commonly found in sex clubs, to induce eroticism and shutter inhibitions.
Miller has probably the hardest job here, trying to talk Paxton out of murder. The character also serves as a source for most of the moments of exposition and explanation. He wants nothing to do with the ensuing murders but doesn't really do anything to remove himself from the situation. He goes along to get along, sadly the mentality of much of the masses today.
It's not long before mayhem and murder happen, actually it's about 5 minutes in and we are witnessing our first mass murder of the movie.
Their kidnap victim, Emily, represents purity at stake. Innocence to be lost. She works at a video game store that the terrible trio enter looking for "new games". Things quickly escalate once inside the store, and after a scene with a mother taken from her son and murdered in another room, the gang (with the exception of Miller) decides to "kill them all", and thus begins the second mass murder of the movie. Paxton with his sledgehammer and Consider with her gun coldbloodly kill each unfortunate customer, but Paxton decides to leave the now motherless child alive to tell their tale, in an homage to Mickey & Mallory in "Natural Born Killers".
This whole sequence at the video game store was raw and intense and left me gasping for air afterward.
After a brief stop at a cemetery, they take their kidnap victim inside of a building. An institution that Paxton claims to work at, but perhaps in reality (and more believably considering his actions) a patient/inmate instead.
They begin to play a game with their "prey", creatively called "Catch & Release", by letting her loose and then hunting her down. Which is effectively just another form of torment by giving the victim a sense of false hope before bringing down the literal hammer.
They eventually encounter a couple of drug addicts living inside of an old abandoned wing of the institution. This is where the movie really shows its teeth and almost feels far too real. My husband even had to leave the room at one point during this scene, he was just too squeamish to sit through it.
There are a handful of scenes that take place in a restroom. I found this interesting because a bathroom is typically thought of as a safe place, a sanctuary. This is most certainly not the case here. Rest assured, every time these characters enter a bathroom, something terrible is going to happen.
Quite frankly, I think this movie has the capacity to disturb people out for a variety of reasons. The "hero" of the story is basically a modern monster, a mentally ill product of a morally bankrupt society. Possibly gaining inspiration from Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of "Joker".
Up until the final experimental Cinéma vérité, Jungean, expressionist moments of the film, the experience feels absolutely authentic. It FEELS like you are watching a video documenting several shocking crimes and vicious acts of extreme violence.
This is not something to be written off as pure exploitation, I believe that the intent was to provoke emotion and stimulate thought, and this really got me thinking. There is something much deeper running underneath the surface here.
The director really shows a strong command for the craft of extreme and experimental. His direction is like a mutant hybrid of Ingmar Bergman and Werner Herzog with the sensibilities of Rob Zombie and a modern day Marques de Sade and I'd be willing to bet he has a background in psychology, whether in practice or as a patient. This was a profound study of human behavior through a dark and disturbingly demented lens. And perhaps in the past the creators would have been imprisoned or worse. But that was then and this is now, and creators of challenging cinema should be celebrated.
The acting was far beyond what you get in many big-budget blockbusters, these actors were committed and it shows. Each one of them had moments to shine and steal a scene. All completely natural and not once did I feel like they were giving anything but genuine performances.
"The House That Jack Built", "Funny Games" and "A Clockwork Orange" are the best comparisons I can come up with to this movie. However, I do not think that this is a movie for mainstream audiences. This would scare the hell out of them. This is a movie meant for fans of challenging ideas of what horror can be, and what it can ultimately do.
The movie begins with a literal backyard book burning, symbolizing the death of art ("entertainment"), which sets the tone for the coming bender of anarchy.
The protagonist, Paxton, lashes out at those who show a lack of appreciation for such entertainments. In his mind he wants to save the world and he thinks that a good start is to show the world that there is "another side to reality" (as he says in the film) , by taking a video camera out into the world and documenting a malicious crime spree, but in the stark black & white reality he inhabits he is actually, and quite frighteningly, a dangerous psychopath.
He is prone to random outbursts of violence, yet he can barely contain his unbridled enthusiasm for creating something unique combined with a thirst for savage beauty and he sees himself as a metaphorical "dragon trying to save the world". I feel like there is a strange music going on that only he can hear. Like a joke where you're the only one who thinks it's funny because you came up with it. The actor portraying Paxton did an incredible job here. He is often times soft-spoken, considerate and thoughtful in his remarks. But at other times, which is the majority of the time, he is a mad dog. I completely bought his performance, he often took interactions with other characters to an extreme or unexpected place and he made me uncommonly uncomfortable more than a few times.
Paxton is joined by two cohorts, a depraved and detached femme fatale named Consider, and the moral compass of the movie, Miller. Sort of a "devil and angel" on Paxton's shoulders kind of relationship. Consider routinely suggests horrific ideas of torment while Miller remains mostly passive and just wants to go home.
Consider (an interesting name choice) is the polar opposite of Miller. She represents Paxton's Id, the "devil on his shoulder". At one point, Consider gleefully blows bubbles at the main victim and often sexualizes repulsive situations, aided by her use of inhalants most commonly found in sex clubs, to induce eroticism and shutter inhibitions.
Miller has probably the hardest job here, trying to talk Paxton out of murder. The character also serves as a source for most of the moments of exposition and explanation. He wants nothing to do with the ensuing murders but doesn't really do anything to remove himself from the situation. He goes along to get along, sadly the mentality of much of the masses today.
It's not long before mayhem and murder happen, actually it's about 5 minutes in and we are witnessing our first mass murder of the movie.
Their kidnap victim, Emily, represents purity at stake. Innocence to be lost. She works at a video game store that the terrible trio enter looking for "new games". Things quickly escalate once inside the store, and after a scene with a mother taken from her son and murdered in another room, the gang (with the exception of Miller) decides to "kill them all", and thus begins the second mass murder of the movie. Paxton with his sledgehammer and Consider with her gun coldbloodly kill each unfortunate customer, but Paxton decides to leave the now motherless child alive to tell their tale, in an homage to Mickey & Mallory in "Natural Born Killers".
This whole sequence at the video game store was raw and intense and left me gasping for air afterward.
After a brief stop at a cemetery, they take their kidnap victim inside of a building. An institution that Paxton claims to work at, but perhaps in reality (and more believably considering his actions) a patient/inmate instead.
They begin to play a game with their "prey", creatively called "Catch & Release", by letting her loose and then hunting her down. Which is effectively just another form of torment by giving the victim a sense of false hope before bringing down the literal hammer.
They eventually encounter a couple of drug addicts living inside of an old abandoned wing of the institution. This is where the movie really shows its teeth and almost feels far too real. My husband even had to leave the room at one point during this scene, he was just too squeamish to sit through it.
There are a handful of scenes that take place in a restroom. I found this interesting because a bathroom is typically thought of as a safe place, a sanctuary. This is most certainly not the case here. Rest assured, every time these characters enter a bathroom, something terrible is going to happen.
Quite frankly, I think this movie has the capacity to disturb people out for a variety of reasons. The "hero" of the story is basically a modern monster, a mentally ill product of a morally bankrupt society. Possibly gaining inspiration from Joaquin Phoenix's portrayal of "Joker".
Up until the final experimental Cinéma vérité, Jungean, expressionist moments of the film, the experience feels absolutely authentic. It FEELS like you are watching a video documenting several shocking crimes and vicious acts of extreme violence.
This is not something to be written off as pure exploitation, I believe that the intent was to provoke emotion and stimulate thought, and this really got me thinking. There is something much deeper running underneath the surface here.
The director really shows a strong command for the craft of extreme and experimental. His direction is like a mutant hybrid of Ingmar Bergman and Werner Herzog with the sensibilities of Rob Zombie and a modern day Marques de Sade and I'd be willing to bet he has a background in psychology, whether in practice or as a patient. This was a profound study of human behavior through a dark and disturbingly demented lens. And perhaps in the past the creators would have been imprisoned or worse. But that was then and this is now, and creators of challenging cinema should be celebrated.
The acting was far beyond what you get in many big-budget blockbusters, these actors were committed and it shows. Each one of them had moments to shine and steal a scene. All completely natural and not once did I feel like they were giving anything but genuine performances.
"The House That Jack Built", "Funny Games" and "A Clockwork Orange" are the best comparisons I can come up with to this movie. However, I do not think that this is a movie for mainstream audiences. This would scare the hell out of them. This is a movie meant for fans of challenging ideas of what horror can be, and what it can ultimately do.
helpful•74
- kellyklopek
- Aug 25, 2020
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- Runtime1 hour 45 minutes
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