There are enough stylistic coups to indicate that the creators of "Make-Out with Violence," an uneasy genre-bending tale about twin brothers who are keeping the not-quite-dead (or once but no longer dead) object of the oldest brother's affections on ice in the bathtub of a friend's house, have potential to make a really good movie. However, this isn't that movie. It's not especially bad, but it suffers from a lack of confidence in tone. The writers and directors pitch it somewhere between the deadpan humor of "Napolean Dynamite" and the disturbing surrealism of "Donnie Darko," but don't commit fully in either direction. Therefore, it too often leaves the audience feeling adrift, not sure how we're supposed to be reacting.
It doesn't help that the majority of the acting is sub-par, especially that of the actor who has perhaps the most crucial role, Patrick (Eric Lehning), the older (by minutes) brother. Cody DeVos, on the other hand, playing the younger twin Carol, goes a long way if not quite all the way at making up for what Lehning fails to deliver. Leah High, as Addy, love interest for Carol, does some nice work, but Jordan Lehning, as the friend who lends his house to a zombie, and Brett Miller as Beetle, the younger brother of Patrick and Carol who also serves as our narrator, are weak.
The film's central conceit -- that Patrick's love for a zombie is a symbol for all the unrequited angst-filled yearnings swirling around this group of almost-adults over the course of a lazy summer -- is a good one, and the movie's not a total wash by a long shot. But mostly it spends its running time being just good enough to make you wish it was better.
Grade: B-
