Fantasia 2017: 68 Kill Movie Review

68 Kill is the over-the-top thrill ride your summer has been waiting for. The wickedly dark and twisted comedy that underpins the hyperbolic white-trash plot keeps you grounded in reality (because, hey, this is just a fun movie), while the blood and exaggerated pulp violence keeps the genre fan in you screaming in agony for more, more, more!

Going into this movie experience, there was no doubt that it was going to be fantastic, and it absolutely was. Having interviewed Matthew Gray Gubler (perhaps best known for his role on Criminal Minds) for another Fantasia feature, Suburban Gothic, and having interviewed AnnaLynne McCord for her Fantasia feature, Excision, we knew that they’d both deliver their respective quirky humor and straight-faced twisted brand of justifiable violence in spades. With the talent of these two actors combined with the direction of 68 Kill’s screenwriter, Trent Haaga (Deadgirl and Troma alum), this is the movie everyone wishes they’d seen when they come out disappointed from the latest buzzed-about must-see genre flick of the moment.

We can’t say much more about the movie than what the official trailer (below) does, or we risk giving away too much of the fun and too many of the surprises. But we will say to keep an eye open for when Chip (Gubler) first sets his sights on Violet (Alisha Boe). That scene alone is worth the price of admission. Also, Liza’s (McCord) brother (Sam Edison) is simultaneously creepy as hell and a fantastic source of comedic relief.

Finally, it would have been great to have seen more of McCord’s character. Her part is strong and crucial during the movie’s first act, and her character is so endearing (like a rubbernecking a bloody highway mess is) that she deserved more attention in the second act.

The cast is much bigger than what is discussed here, but it should be mentioned that supporting actors Sheila Vand, Hallie Grace Bradley, and Eric Podnar, et al, delivered top-shelf performances.

68 Kill Synopsis:

Trailer-dwelling, sewage-pumping Chip may not lead the most glamorous life, but he’s got one thing going for him: he’s head over heels infatuated with his girlfriend Liza (McCord). He’s more than willing to overlook her wild streak—the fact that she’s hooking up with their landlord; her rather extreme mood swings —so when she proposes a plot to steal $68,000, he goes along with the plan. But when what was supposed to be a simple heist turns into an off-the-rails, blood-spattered crime spree, Chip learns the hard way just how deranged the love of his life really is.

68 Kill screened at the 2017 edition of the Fantasia Film Festival on July 29th, but it made its debut in March at the South by Southwest Film Festival. IFC Midnight released the movie on VOD this past August 4th, which means watch the fucker now!

Rock Hard \m/