rbeckring Reviews

Some Kind of Hate (2015)

This counts as B horror????

[1/10 · 3 October 2015]

Not the worst waste of time I've ever sat through. Cinematography was alright, gore was good, but that's about the nicest thing I can come up with. The protagonist, Lincoln, doesn't get a name until 40 minutes into this dog. We learn his girlfriend's name about 30 minutes in. Nothing really builds in all that time. Obviously, we're not intended to see the "good" kid as a totally sympathetic character, but his motivations are always pretty much a mystery. The "bad" kids, they get about 5 minutes of being mean and the rest of the film tries to be totally overwrought, but really just meanders. And nevermind that not a single one of the kids in this film looks younger than 28 (excepting Grace Phipps). The teachers looked younger than all the kids, but that's no big deal for a lot of high school slasher flicks that at least TRY to convince us that their goings-on are worth caring about. This was a boring one- gimmick piece of trash that should have just been deleted from the directors hard drive to free up space. I'd hoped to hear the Misfits tune that is this film's namesake, but licensing rights cost money. Too bad, just this once, that titles can't be licensed.

Blunt Force Trauma (2015)

Mesmerizing and visceral

[8/10 · 22 September 2015]

A slice of the lives of two vagabond gunfighters, the stories that brought them together, and their inevitable spiral as each chooses the degree of violence that must rule their existence. The haunting soundtrack (mostly Kid Dakota, veteran of minimalist-core label Chairkickers Union) punctuated a perfect Foley which provides the crunch of beer cans and a rattling rolling lead pipe in place of the jangling cowboy spurs and whistling wind of earlier gunfighter films. When the story slowed, it never felt stilted or awkward, and the ride was totally worth every minute of building tension. Yes, there is a parallel to Fight Club, but Blunt Force Trauma has none of that film's self-consciousness or absurdity and it's hard to believe that there isn't an underground dueling circuit after watching.