A man living in an abusive relationship is put through the ringer and finds his inner strength to survive and move on following a wild and crazy night and day.
Based on the novel by Bryan Smith, written and directed by Trent Haaga, 68 Kill is an insane ride filled by crazy, lunatic characters. The whole thing seems completely nuts and ludicrous but it works. Somehow, Haaga took all the most ridiculous characters and situations and makes them work in a sort of white-trash opera. Here all the characters do dumb things for dumb reasons and they almost all are assholes and lunatics, yet the film is crazy fun to watch and has a story that moves at a good, fast pace and leads to a satisfactory ending. Haaga took all of the most unlikely elements to make one of those film that should not work yet does so beautifully.
This is all made possible by a carefully chosen cast who give their all in terms of going batshit crazy and never shying away from ridiculous situations and set-ups. In the lead part of Chip is Matthew Gray Gubler who is normally the sweetest, most energetic person and here he uses that to bring his character to life and give him a good arch through the film’s story. His performance is the anchor of the film and the main reason the whole shebang works so well. Playing against his sweet, misguided Chip are two women who are different types of crazy. AnnaLynne McCord plays her crazy mean girlfriend character with confidence and just the right touch of insanity that never really leaves her eyes. Alisha Boe plays Violet, a source of inspiration and hope for Chip who also doesn’t seem to be all sane. Her presence is very welcomed and works with the film’s general feeling to give Chip what he needs to go on. The rest of the cast plays crazy mofos to the best of their abilities which all comes together to make this film one hell of a thrill ride.
The practical special effects by Charles Lucia and William Spataro are fantastically bloody and gooey with a few spots that are not as good but those are so few that they are easily forgivable, especially given how the film didn’t wuss out on the effects and did mostly practical ones and some gutsy ones at that too.
68 Kill is a horror-comedy-action thrill ride, one that goes for insane and then amps up the volume on that way past 11. The performances sell the insanity and the violence just keeps the viewer glued to the action. It’s a film that’s hard to describe without giving too much away and may very well be better watched knowing as little as possible about it. Director Trent Haaga has managed what many others don’t in making the audience care about a story in which 99% of characters are unlikable assholes who do crazy things for dumb reasons. The anchor character and performance being that of Matthew Gray Gubler without whom the film would have failed miserably. His presence paired with Haaga’s work make this one a must see.
Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 13th to August 2nd.