Duck! The Carbine High Massacre

i saw this a couple of years ago. i wouldn't normally post my opinion here, but since someone else already has, i'll just say this - i thought this is one of the worst films ever. bad acting, bad script, bad cinematography. bad, bad, bad all around. it looks like a school project made by kids who have no concept of what makes a good film.

i thought it might have some redeeming qualities - like actually having a message or original story - but it didn't. it doesn't look like a spoof at all. it looks like these kids wanted to make a schlocky gore version of the real tragedy for their friends because they weren't satisfied with still pictures in the news or the few clips from CCTV available on the internet.

i had no idea this was listed on IMDb, and i wasn't even aware there was any public controversy about it until recently. if the controversy was so intense that the FBI had to get involved (though i can't understand why), that might be the only historical value this film has.

Avoid this "movie".

Yes the acting is bad the editing is bad the script is bad... but that's what makes it so perfect. Whether it's actually meant to be a comedy or not, me and my friends were laughing the entire time. Its actually so funny to watch and if that was on purpose, that's even better. If you want something that's actually informative and high-quality about school shootings like columbine though, you probably wouldn't like it.

The massacre at Columbine High School--and the grief of its aftermath drawn out in the mass media--brought the 1990s to a screaming halt in a manner similar to the way Charles Manson's 'family' ended the 1960s on a similarly somber note. In the years that have followed, the incident has been the crux of Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" documentary and Gus van Sant's awful, exploitative art-house take, "Elephant." In Moore's film, more issues than answers are raised, with the ambiguity of motive and reason providing the fuel for discussion and thought; van Sant's film, on the other hand, is 80 shallow minutes that take forever to say absolutely nothing.

"Duck! The Carbine High Massacre" exists in an odd limbo between the above-mentioned films. Not as thought-provoking as Moore's humanitarian view, and not as dull as van Sant's debacle, its biggest claim to fame is being out the gate first (though filmed in 1999, it didn't receive an official video release until last year), though that ultimately isn't saying much. And the rationale for its existence, though the directors claim otherwise, is just as empty as the news media jumping on the handkerchief-wringing bandwagon of sadness carried in the aftermath of the Columbine massacre.

The shot-on-video production (which has the feel of a home movie, thus making its flaws all the more apparent) follows the lives of two put-upon high school kids (played by William Hellfire and Joey Smack) who listen to heavy metal, make bombs, read "Mein Kampf," and are subjected to torture and humiliation by the Alpha Elite, until one day they decide to shoot up the school in a blood-soaked frenzy. The characters are broad stereotypes without names, from a Bible-thumping Puritan, the cheerleader and her jock boyfriend, the gearhead, and the similarly tormented Goth kids--the cast isn't experienced enough and the writing isn't sharp enough to bring off the cutting satire successfully, so the film just winds up wallowing in its over-the-top excess, pandering for our attention.

That's not to say it isn't without its merits--though some of the humor is awkward (when a husband beats up his wife after hearing some heavy metal music, for instance), the youthful characters hit the right notes in spite of their heavy-handed approach. Needless to say, Hellfire and Smack carry this 20-minutes-too-long picture, and exhibit a deeply felt rapport whenever on screen; though their characters are ultimately as clichéd as the bullying jocks, we are sympathetic towards their plight without necessarily agreeing with it.

On the other hand, "Duck!" trots out nerve-obliterating clichés (how many times did we need to see that wounded kid running out of the building, on TV?), unfunny one-liners, and very poor acting by the surrounding adults. It gets to the point where any commentary on school violence is jettisoned for a "Natural Born Killers"-style festival of excess, to the point where the film becomes a chore to watch.

Ultimately, "Duck!" is an unbalanced misfire that takes the good with the bad, but doesn't elicit the strong reaction it is so desperately trying to provoke. What's left is the promise of seeing something of fairer quality from the Hellfire/Smack duo one day, so...better luck next time, guys.

i just got this movie in he mail today and i've gotta say it's pretty good. when it first starts, i had to scoff at the acting in the first scene because it was SO terrible, but as the movie progressed, it got better. hellfire and smack aren't bad actors and play their characters rather well. as cheap as the movie was (and i don't mean that as necessarily bad) i couldn't help but to feel some compassion for derick and derwin, particularly the part after derwin gets beat up and derick has to do that presentation by himself. it actually upset me how they were ridiculing him and he was obviously getting upset, and to top it off, the teacher failed him. that was probably my favorite scene. overall, it was a pretty good movie despite some of the acting. i recommend to fans of independent movies.

I guess I'm in the minority here, but I loved this movie. I'm familiar with William Hellfire and Factory 2000's early output, so I knew what I was in for. That may have helped. Still, I was initially put off by the first twenty or so minutes. I expected this content to be taken a little more seriously. Once I understood the tone they were going for, I got it, and loved it.

There are some disturbing moments in this, but tongue is firmly in cheek through the entire film. It pokes fun at the cliques in high school, the clueless parents (which are ALL played by the same two people, I found this to be a funny gag), American media's obsession with violence. The massacre at the end gets fairly graphic and uncomfortable to watch at times, but the black humor still shines through.

If you're looking for an offensive but intelligently done low (LOW) budget flick, I can't recommend this one enough. One of Factory 2000's best films.