Incredible Violence

Am I the only one tired of being preached at in my movies? This is yet another example of filmmakers thinking they're smarter than the people who they're suppose to be making the movie for.

White knighting around and saying the women are treated like garbage in movies is boring. Men are treated bad on movies too, but you don't see anyone making movies about that, do you? Instead, I when I'm sitting down to get my mind off stuff, I get another reminder that men are evil, women are perfect. I'm tired of it.

The acting is terrible, it's trying so hard to be deep, has nothing to say, the music sounds like its placeholder stuff. They probably found it for free on the internet and then to top it off it looks like it was shot on a phone. Find something else to watch, like a black screen and you'll have more fun. NO THANKS!

Low budget attempt (that succeeded) to create artificial snuff film. Allegedly the excuses are offered as desperation, low self esteem, ignorance, lack of IQ and simply blood lust that is present in film industry. Moreover, "poor" producer is being harassed by a cult of rich/mafia/aliens/demons?!?. Poor story, even poorer execution. Quite demented for no reason. Interesting enough, it got nominated. Funny!!!

A film that doesn't quite live up to its bold title, despite a couple of classic shock scenes.

It follows a broke director who decides to make his movie anyway by gathering actors in a big house rigged with cameras and directing them remotely.

The plot is super predictable-you know where it's headed within the first few minutes-but the concept is still intriguing. It's been done before, but it's a reliable setup. The first problem is that the opening half is profoundly dull. You wait over 30 minutes for even a hint of tension, and nothing keeps you engaged. The characters are basic, the dialogue equally so. The film picks up a slight rhythm after that, building some suspense and escalating the action, but it's still very much been-there-done-that.

The second issue is the characters' behavior, a common flaw in the genre. They flip from victims to perpetrators without reason, change personalities in two minutes flat, and barely try to rationalize what's happening. The film nods to this with a reference to the Milgram experiment, but it doesn't fix much.

Labeled a horror-comedy, Incredible Violence takes itself pretty seriously. The only funny bits are the early kills, with the obviously amateur killer juggling murder and the "artistic" side of his project, leading to some absurd situations. The few horror sequences are decent enough. Everything else is lackluster. The epilogue's meta twist arrives too late, packed with clichés (like a chase through the woods), and the supposedly shocking scenes don't go far enough to hit hard, despite an occasionally gripping atmosphere thanks to a solid soundtrack.

It sometimes feels like a failed Kolobos or My Little Eye, which is a shame. For a debut film, it's not terrible, honestly, but I was glad when it ended.

It's not fair to describe this as a bad film, but the supposedly meta nature of this film just did not work - I just didn't get it. I like a film with some ambiguity but here there are character and story arcs that just make no sense. The idea of a filmmaker under extreme pressure to make a film is not new, but you can see that writer/director is trying something different. The result though seems to be wholly dependant on a very specific set of circumstances, which could easily be undone at any point by a more obvious choice. Still maybe worth a view if you like something a bit more out there, but not for me.

Condon has created a truly inventive story, taking common tropes from killer thrillers and exploitation cinema and putting a fresh spin on the standards. There is the classic psycho killer persona and a nice collection of young women. The story brings in elements of serial psychology and aspects of POV/CCTV that really grabs onto the whole guerilla filmmaking ideology. All blended in a storied span of comfortable and captivating cinematography.

"Incredible Violence" gets meta with all it's layered psychotica. At first I didn't think I would like the film. I expected it to fall apart and become a hot mess. Don't make that mistake when you set out to watch this movie. Condon does great at keeping the structure and continuity flowing. The acting varies from decent to great from scene to scene depending on the cast. Mostly I just became swept up in the story. That being said, there are a few moments that actions and dialog becomes clunky and muddled, but things rebound quickly.

The horror and violence is full frontal for most of the film's edgy, thriller scenes. It is brutal, exploitative and celebratory. However the cruelty and coldness has purpose. It isn't just for the sake of showing some blood stained flesh. It is shown in contrast to the antagonist's motivation. We are watching a movie of a movie in the making. One in which budget concerns and ingenuity are always an issue. Even flaws are arguably intentional, artistic elements. And superficially the kill sequences look good and at times intense.

Overall I enjoyed "Incredible Violence". It is creative and entertaining. The story is complex and complete. I found the characters to be fully developed, relatable characters instead of explotational fluff. The quality of the cinematography is nicely done considering the low-budget nature. The horror elements have purpose and maintain a gritty, affective quality. There are a few flaws but for the most part this is a indie horror worth checking out.