Kill DVD Review
Written by Charlotte Stear
DVD released by Troma
Written and directed by Chad Archibald and Philip Carrer
2012, Region 1 (NTSC), 85 minutes, Not Rated
DVD released on April 10th, 2012
Starring:
Ryan Barrett as Richard
Jennifer De Lucia as Emma
Peter Soltesz as Kirk
Andrew Ferfuso as Don
Carrie Prout as Sherri
Casey Dutfield as Lauren
Thomas Gofton as Jeremy
Review:
Kill has a title that leaves nothing to the imagination, it’s straight to the point and no messing around, but does the film do the same?
A group of six people wake up to find themselves dressed all in white in a white room with no idea where they are or how they got there. Each is in a separate room, but on stumbling out they meet in a conjoining hallway where not one person recognises the other and the house they are in is boarded up with no escape. As they struggle with their new reality, a tormenter is watching and plotting, he is ever present but never seen. They soon realise they are part of a sick and twisted game and if they want to survive, they must do the unthinkable: kill the others to save themselves. While they try and find a way out, crazy guys dressed in Tiki gear are messing with their heads, making the game more interesting and causing friction within a group that needs to stick together.
On a small budget certain things are forgiven or taken with a pinch of salt, like effects, acting etc., but sometimes something a director or writer does highlights these flaws so that they become rather unbearable. For Kill, it is a poor script that does this movie no favours. Dialogue is stunted and at times plain stupid and asking if someone is still alive when you’ve just been told they have a pulse is just one example of this. A part that was particularly frustrating was during the group’s first try of getting out of the house. They’ve woken up, presumably been drugged, have already encountered one man who has been tortured and yet when one of them begins bashing at the windows, someone still shouts, “Stop, this is someone’s house!” Yes, that’s right, you wouldn’t want to damage anything that belongs to the guy who drugged you to torture you. These guys may be victims of abduction, but damn do they still have manners. Only it really just comes off as bad writing because no one would say that. Ever. Also, these guys are pretty damn calm for a bunch of people who wake somewhere they’re not supposed to be, everything is a bit to methodical and nothing feels like it’s playing out how it should.
The bad script coupled with wooden acting gets tedious very quickly and after 20 minutes of the group wandering the house confused, the realisation that this is going to be a long 90 minutes is not a pleasant thought. A lot of what may have been comedy on page does not work onscreen, which is a real shame as humour would have really given this film some added likability. It’s very easy to be harsh with the acting as no one looks comfortable onscreen, but this is the first movie for the actors which does explain a lot.
It may sound like there was nothing to like about Kill, but that’s not exactly true. There are some gruesome scenes showing what can be done on a limited budget and some great tension is achieved despite the drawbacks that come from using inexperienced actors. What is particularly cool is how it all ends and how that conclusion resonates once the credits begin to roll. But when you think about how long it takes to get to where it wants to go, there is a lot of wasted time. However, if you make it, you may like the payoff.
Video and Audio:
I had no problem with the sound, but the visuals were at times rather grainy and dark, video is shown in 1.78:1 widescreen.
Special Features:
There’s your usual bunch of Troma extras here; Troma Trailers, Radiation march and Transvestite PSA, but not much else. There is, though, an audio commentary for Kill, which is a good bonus.
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