The Violent Kind (2010)
Starring: Cory Knauf, Taylor Cole, Bret Roberts
Writers: Adam Weis, The Butcher Brothers
Directors: The Butcher Brothers
****SPOILERS****
Pretty boy Cody and his fellow biker buds, Q and Elroy travel to a secluded farmhouse to celebrate his Mother's birthday. The party seems to be a blast, filled with old friends, strippers and a hefty amount of Pabst and Budweiser. It's all good until Cody's ex-girlfriend Michelle shows up, ramming her tongue down another dude's throat. Our protagonist goes into 'emo' mode, drinking his sorrows away on the front steps. Michelle's younger sister, Megan, comes outside to to give him some company and slam one of his PBRs. During all this truly ridiculous character development, there are some ominous clouds coming in overhead and a group of 50's style 'Greasers' lurking in the shadows and behind trees surrounding the house.
Eventually, the party comes to an end, leaving Cody, Elroy, Q, and his girlfriend Shade... oh, and Megan got left behind by her drunker than shit sister, oops. Have no fear! Michelle shows back up, blood-caked, barefoot and making no sense. The guys go out to look for her boyfriend, when they come back they realize that she's got a Linda Blair-possessed type thing going on. Sounds crazy... well, it's pretty normal in comparison to how the rest of the film unfolds, and I pretty much loved where it went!
I'm not gonna lie, it took about twenty minutes before I was fully interested in what The Violent Kind was offering. It was kind of a turn-off that these young biker guys looked more like frat boys dressed up for Halloween rather than actual gruff type bad dudes. The acting and story weren't exactly off to a great start, either. So, when an out-of-nowhere possession angle got introduced, it was a warm welcome. After that, The Butcher Brothers attack with one mindfuck after another, and the intrigue keeps coming with the wonderment of how much more bizarre it will get.
There's a lot of interesting camera work; low shots from underneath characters aiming up, scenes filmed through a shotgun hole in a door, etc... We get usage of the shaky-cam effect, but not in that 'mockumentary can't tell what's going on' type way. I was also a fan of the lightning fast editing that helps depict mind-rape-like sequences of some of the characters.
As previously mentioned, the acting is kinda terrible for a large duration of the film. In fact, the two saving the first half are Taylor Cole as Shade and Christina Prousalis (now Christina McDowell) as Megan. It's a whole different ballpark when the 'Greasers' come into play, though. Joe Egender as Vernon, the leader of the group, is an absolute show stealer. He carries the appearance of Giovanni Ribisi on a diet - even has a similar high-pitched cackle - and the dude can do a pelvic thrust that would make Elvis proud. Joseph McKelheer plays the main sidekick, Jazz, a 'Big Bopper' type character sporting a slick dance routine and a bad ass pair of zoot suit shoes. Samuel Child plays Murderball, the buff-stuff of the clan that says nothing.
And I must have a thing for devilish 50's pin-up style women, because I was fully seduced by Trixie and Pussywagon, played by Mackenzie Firgins and Ilea Matthews. These gals were bonkers! I'm breaking into a sweat thinkin' about 'em!
This flick had my TV leaking blood from the edges! Holy shit - tons of nasty gashes, bodies that are just one big blob of a gut mess, sickening gun-shot wounds - lol, I loved it! I found the visual FX mostly impressive too, especially in the latter half of the film.. but some computer generated blood put me off. It doesn't flow well with everything that's packaged with it.
I'm pretty damn impressed with The Violent Kind, considering my optimism was dwindling in the beginning. Ultimately, the lackluster start kinda makes sense. This movie is a little bit of everything: The Exorcist + The Outsiders + The Wild Angels + a ton of other things = The Violent Kind... it resists genre placement, and that may be what many viewers hold against it. Just lower your rational thought knob before turning it on... that's the best advice I can give. Props to The Butcher Brothers for creating a batshit crazy piece of celluloid.
