Straight Edge Kegger

Looking at the other reviews on here, I might be the only person in the world who thinks it, but I thought this movie was great. Maybe it's my own life in punk related music scenes that made this more appealing to me. However I've watched many a punk themed film, and for me this ranks as one of the best. Hipster attention to detail is paramount here, every vinyl, sticker, tattoo, t shirt etc seems perfectly chosen and artfully framed. The soundtrack must be mentioned, with digital noise and jazz mixing in with the expected punk and hardcore. The story it tells is a simple one, as in most slasher movies it's mostly scene setting for sickening violence. Add in some chummy moments and humour along the way and the whole thing just zips by. More punxsploitation like this please.

My cinematic standards are pretty low: I can forgive less than stellar acting; I take great joy in non-sensical plots; I even find there's a certain charm to low-budget effects and filming techniques. What I can't forgive though is being boring, and unfortunately Straight Edge Kegger commits this most unforgivable of sins.

The film is only 75 minutes, but the first 40 of those are spent on an overly drawn-out setup. The second half is where the action starts, but surprisingly even then it all still feels like a slog. I found myself constantly checking to see how much longer I had left to watch.

For a film about punk, the plot and action also feel maddeningly mainstream. It feels restrained, conservative even. I got the sense that the film thought it was being really balls-to-the-wall, but I felt it never truly committed. I wish they had just gone for it, even if ended up as a complete failure. Interesting failures are at least memorable. Right now though the film stands in this awkward middle ground: too low budget to be an effective normal horror film, while also far too normal to be an underground gem.

I hate dunking on a smaller production like this. Just getting a film to screen deserves commendation, all the more so if that film is reasonably competently made like this one is. However I just can't really recommend Straight Edge Kegger. It feels far too long even with it's short runtime, and ultimately does not capture any of the punk spirit.

Go watch Green Room, and then follow it up with the rest of Jeremy Saulnier's filmography if you want to see exactly what this movie was attempting.

Last week a student asked me for an example of an oxymoron.... if only I knew about 'Straight Edge Kegger' Ok this little movie isn't w/o a few charms, a sometimes fun (if you're bored enough or have always secretly harbored thoughts of taking out a few self righteous no-fun allowed on our watch X-edge bozos) though mostly underwhelming horror'ish flick. Mostly just blood n guts and senseless killing w/o any real heart or thought put into it. In the end nothing anyone will remember 10 minutes after the credits roll.

FINAL Thoughts: 1. Could be fun to watch with friends as a foundation for a drinking game 2. Get over it, once you're legally old enough to drink its called 'sober' not 'straight edge'.

Exactly the type of premise my buddies and I would have come up at 3am, and a few cases in. Somewhat clever winks and nods to the real subculture that I got a chuckle out of. But after the initial 20 or so minutes, the nostalgia really started to wear off. After that you start to question almost all the stylistic choices and tone of the movie. I couldn't help but to just wonder, "Why"? Almost an impossible movie to settle into. They couldn't even get the continuity of the color of blood right. It was hard not to pick apart.

Shout out to the actor that played the laidback, but possibly alcoholic hardcore "kid" though. He was alright, and had a nice Bane tee.