Great Kills

I have been rewatching mockumentaries when this one popped up for me to watch. I am in Europe, and with my VPN, I gained access to a US streaming service that allows me to see old movies. This show is new.

Lucky me. Here we have a film crew following this guy who is a hitman. So... "Man Bites Dog," right? No. It's different in so many ways. It's more like Woody Allen and Diane Keaton following Robert De Niro. Honestly.

The show has its limitations. It clearly had no money. However, it works in its favor if you are patient.

But I have to say, this actor Steve Stanulis, whom I also googled and still don't know of, is a stunningly good actor. This show is off the grid, so where did this guy who plays the hitman come from? His performance holds together eight episodes with ease. There is very little story here, and I applaud the filmmakers for making something out of nothing. But my high score is based on this actor who is on par with any of the great American actors of the '70s. I am not joking. Just watch the show with eyes that understand the limitations. The supporting cast is very good, but there's this actor who is clearly not as famous as say, Stellan Skarsgård, yet there he is, just as good, carrying five hours on his shoulders.

This show might be a bit messy for your average viewer who is used to watching slick productions. However, it is a milestone for the genre, much like "Man Bites Dog" was a milestone.

What happens in Staten Island stays in Staten Island!

I love the dark humor throughout this series. It is a great binge. Funny and very suspenseful.

Amazing performances directed by none other than iconic SLC Punk! Director James Merendino, who also plays a key role in the series. Steve Stanulis reminds me of Michael Douglas in Falling Down.

Love all the female actors who play the co-director, the mob-boss the girlfriend and the grandma. Such interesting multi-dimensional female characters. Women of Staten Island are hardcore.

I can't wait to see where the characters are next season. What a great Tubi surprise!

My first review. I saw this movie because I follow James Merendino on Facebook. I saw a trailer there and thought, meh. I don't always like his stuff. LIke his last movie was yikes. But, I watched the whole show last night in one go. It is fire. It's really dark and funny and very much worth the watch. Even the low budget feel works. It's a mockumentary like the Office, which I hate. But The acting is so real and also so hysterical. The guy who plays Tom the hit man is really amazing. I never saw him before, but he is top tier acting wise. And James is in it as the director. He's pretty damn funny and more or less how he is on his live streams. Like I said. Everyone is good accept a couple of the tiny roles, but they are gone quick and it didn't bother me. I'm bad at this. But I recommend it. I hate most things. I Love this one. (Either the numbers are off or there is an episode missing)

This show is hilarious by itself, but what's interesting and impressive about this series is how much of the humor is never even said but implied. First, the best joke of all is that a hitman would ever even agree to be in a documentary in the first place. There's a good blend of dry British style humor, absurdism, satire and full on next-level meta comedy.

What appear to be "problems" with production value are largely intentional, so don't get turned off until you see how its part of the joke. For instance the sound guy screwing up the shots (he's in almost every frame of the documentary in the first episode). It's almost like a blend of reality TV and the old exploitation films, where campiness is an integral part of the mix. However, to me it leaned a bit too much towards the latter in a few places, there are a few reactions to major events that were underacted in my opinion, and I think the kills could have been a bit more convincing. I'm fairly sure these were also part of the style and artistic direction, but I was personally hoping for something a little more dark.

Definitely one of the best shows available on the non-mainstream streaming platforms, the premise itself was brilliant and I was excited for over a year to finally see it, I'm glad to see it was pulled off very well. Check this one out for sure!

Please, when is season 2 coming? I randomly found this on Tubi and to my surprise it was addictive. I've binge watched this 2 times in the past week and I wanted more. It's not over the top, done with the perfect amount of dark humor and crime/horror which really made it a solid series. Also from someone who has never been to New York and the fact that Great Kills is actually a neighborhood made it that more trippy. Genius filmmaking, other indie filmmakers need to take note - this is how you make a solid series. Good character development and the last episode really is a cliffhanger. Excellent.