The Violent Kind (2010)

This film is actually worthy of two different ratings - the 3 I gave it and the 8 I wanted to give it.The low rating is because the story basically made no sense. It reminds me of that episode of South Park where Eric Cartman is trying to find out where the writers of Family Guy get their story ideas from. Finally, Eric is shocked to learn that it's manatees who push disparate, unrelated ideas together and the Family Guy writers just run with that. The Violent Kind is one of those kinds of movies - throw in as many unrelated events as you possibly can into one film and hope the audience buys the ridiculousness.To be fair, those contrasting elements is why I wanted to give the movie an 8 rating. If anything, it shows that the filmmakers did their homework as there were quite a few references to ideas that came before them. Just watching the film you will be reminded of Tarantino, James Dean, Pulp Fiction, The Wild Bunch, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Tarantino, The Exorcist, The Possession, Tarantino, Machine Girl, Carrie, Alien, The Silence of the Lambs, Tarantino, that episode of Twilight Zone where the space alien who looks human wears his white work cap over the third eye in his forehead, Tarantino, etc.The over-the-top acting in some parts was downright annoying, like Jim Carrey on steroids. The incessant crying was also annoying. The fact that everyone looked like gorgeous super models is ridiculous. The fact that the phones have no signal is ultra-clichéd; maybe that's a routine element for horror these days, like a woman running through the woods who finally trips over a root or something.For a bunch of smart motorcycle/car mechanics, they sure look stupid not being able to figure out a car won't start because it's, gasp!, out of gas! Yeah, I know. What 9th grader came up with that idea, right? Maybe the directors' children were involved in the creation of the scrip. It sure shows, probably who The Violent Kind was intended for anyway.In the end, all the sudden twists and turns the movie makes from censored porn to biker drama to vampire-like horror to science fiction must have been made for kids with the attention span of fleas. In that case, the movie excels. For others, you've seen bits of this movie before. If rubbing all those different ideas together is your cup of tea, The Violent Kind won't disappoint.

The plot: A group of petty drug dealers head to their remote cabin for a birthday celebration, but the real party begins when one of them becomes possessed by something beyond time and space.The biggest problem is that this film has too much filler. If this had been half as long, it would have been twice as good. The first 30 minutes consists of tedious character development, but once you get past that, things start getting pretty interesting. The setup seems to be going toward a stereotypical, derivative biker film, but it takes a series of progressively weirder left turns into possession film, home invasion, surreal torture porn, and finally a David Lynch-style ending that leaves you with plenty of questions and no answers. If you like David Lynch, David Cronenberg, and Takashi Miike, you'll probably like this film, but mainstream horror fans who resent endings that make no sense will probably want to stay away from this messy film.There are definitely some interesting ideas, and the filmmakers tried to do something different and non-mainstream. However, it comes across as a mish-mash of postmodern concepts that are not fully realized. I would have preferred more focus and less filler, but this was actually a pretty good attempt. If you're patient, forgiving of low budget horror films, and like weird stories that make no sense, you should give The Violent Kind a try. It's worth a 6 or 7 -- not the 4 that it currently has.

This is a film that could almost be broken into three differently toned parts along the lines of a format similar to "A.I." and "Martyrs." Likewise, the first half seems conventional enough, the second half more dangerous and the third is about as bleak as they come--by the time it finishes, how it began will be a distant memory."The Violent Kind" starts out as a cool and sleazy afternoon in Oakland, CA with a posse of three young biker buddies belonging to "The Crew" who are without a care or concern except living up their own impulsive behavior from rough sex, fights to drinking beer. They go to Cody's mother's 50th birthday at an isolated house and instead of finding a bunch of well-behaved and mature adults, everybody celebrates with loud rock 'n' roll, more drinking and strippers. After almost everybody leaves, the real party just gets started, one where their livers aren't going to be the only things on the line.Cody's ex girlfriend returns a bloodied mess and asks for help. She's brought inside and placed in a bed until the remaining people left over--three guys, two gals--can figure out why their vehicles won't work and their cell phones act glitchy to get help as they're in the middle of nowhere. All the while the audience is shown mysterious others that hang outside in the shadows. They visit the only neighbor around and cryptic symbols are shown written on the walls in blood to allude to something ominous on the horizon. Soon enough things start to get really weird, as the woman on the bed turns Linda Blair-like possessed and with her bare hands mutilates one of the guys trying to get frisky and feel her up.Soon enough, the mysterious outsiders show up to the house to collect something they need. Though it's like they stepped into another era or some kind of paranormal realm as there are unexplained flashes of light and these new strangers appear to be ripped out of a time warp from the '50s with their distinct attire, tunes and lingo. They've got a dark and condescending sense humor that includes torturing their hostages while playing theme music on the record player and all the while laughing sardonically like they know a big secret their captives don't. They put on a sadistic show and fit their eccentric parts like a glove, though it's a rather pointless game except to show what kind of people they're dealing with: the violent kind.The first phase is more fleshed out and some perspective is gained of the young gang with some internal conflicts, though it's a different type of knowing as being familiar with their disregard for restraint sets a new bar for comfortable living at the expense of others as well as themselves. Everything is so rebellious, carefree and in-the-moment that it's hard to care of their safety or even their demise because they might have already had it coming. The next phase is going for mystery and cheap thrills by keeping the audience in the dark with only snippets of light to what, how or why these people are there. The ending gave a feeling of hopelessness as it left the audience as well as the characters out to dry. However, they made it too powerful and far reaching without actually showing the big picture and how these select people tie in, even if they seem incidental. It would be like watching "Night of the Living Dead," except where the TV and word of mouth by others are missing, which would leave the focus in one area but not effectively set up for how it all pans out or ties in to a global matter. Otherwise it feels exaggerated to stretch its importance."The Violent Kind" isn't going to be for everybody but it's definitely a different type of film which travels over a wide arc of genres and steps on any morals or taboos it can in the process. One of its setbacks is it felt like a condensed mini-series that gives assorted tastes of a little bit of here and there, but not enough to really appreciate and savor everything you just seen. It's entertaining to a degree, and with the change-ups I can't say it was boring, even if everything doesn't line up or is what it is anticipated to be. It gives some homage to other films and had some hiccups though all and all it did seem one of a kind. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

I got to see a cut of The Violent Kind at the San Francisco International Film Festival and it was amazing. Not at all what I expected. It is billed as a horror film, but dives into science fiction and so much more. I have to say, I had a hard time figuring the film out which is pretty unusual for me. It takes about 5 left turns and where you end up is pretty far away from where you started. The entire movie was shot in Sonoma County California, and features some great local talent and locations. In fact, they basically get the entire town of Penngrove in one camera move! Not a difficult task really, no offense Penngrove! If you like X-Files, or Outer Limits, you should really dig this. If you just like blood and gore, it is there, but not in copious amounts. Overall, I highly recommend itCheck out my full review here: http://drivein77.typepad.com/drivein77/2010/04/the-violent-kind.html