Description

Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, USA, a pretty wild party is going on, put together for Cody’s mom’s 50th birthday. Cody is a good guy, barely out of jail, who likes pick-up rides and hanging out with his pals. Since they’re all in a biker gang (the Crew), you can guess they’re no Boy Scouts—a ferocious brawl that kicks things off confirms the notion. Back home after university, sweet little Megan gets a taste of her old lifestyle at the party, where she happens to flirt with Cody. White thrash also means cheap booze flowing freely (Pabst Blue Ribbon and Jack Daniels, natch), heavy, loud and sleazy rock, shiny Harleys parked up front and some gratuitous T&A (a few strippers come by to say hi)—in other words, everything to satisfy your average Ted Nugent fan. That is, until late at night, when they’re all either off to bed or completely wasted. Everything’s going straight to hell. Dead bodies piles up, disfigured or with exploded heads. Michelle, Megan’s sister, shows up covered in blood and all messed up. That’s just the beginning of the unexpected twists and 90-degree turns, including mutilations, possessions and invasions.

What starts as a variant Larry Clark’s KIDS suddenly starts surprising and doesn’t stop from there. The spirit of THE VIOLENT KIND fits perfectly into the grindhouse revival, dug up and dusted off by Eli Roth (think of CABIN FEVER), Rob Zombie (the neglected and filthy aspects of THE DEVIL’S REJECTS) and the Tarantino gang. The latter’s influence is everywhere, from dialogue to editing, photography and music selection—this is kind of like his production HELL RIDE, but much crazier. Of course, references abound—winks at classics (THE SHINING, CLOCKWORK ORANGE, THE EXORCIST) and at Sam Raimi’s cult flick EVIL DEAD, when it’s not busy pimping Wes Craven’s vintage psychosis (imagine LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT, rockabilly style). Lovers of American gore who dug ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE, PIGHUNT and especially WICKED LAKE (all at last year’s Fantasia) will undoubtedly have lots of fun with this one. Rest assured, the directors haven’t forgotten to please the B-movie aficionados, throwing in some inked and/or naked pretty ladies (including starlet Tiffany Shepis) and some spontaneous combustion as well, in addition to their all-over-the place story. Well done, guys.

—Kristof G. (translated by Kristof G.)