yuwei-lin

There are good ideas scattered in this film, but the director struggles to balance a more artistic and poetic treatment of the material and coherence. I lost my interest after one hour because it is not moving anywhere. Some materials could have been edited out and make this make it a better-paced piece. I'm also unsure about the genre - I didn't know if I was watching a horror film or just a drama. I'm not sure if the techniques from different genres have been blended well. Maxine Peake is the saver of this film, though. Despite her brief appearance, everything she does is meaningful and just about right. This movie is worth watching because of Maxine Peake's striking performance, especially towards the end.

The idea of turning the sexual struggles with adolescence and exploration of sex into a horror film is interesting. The director also intends to show our fear of malformed / different bodies, unlike the Hollywood standard, young and slim bodies. These unusual bodies, appeared in different ages and sexes, dressed or naked, are portrayed as 'others'.

In addition to appearance and beauty, teens also struggle with defining their own sexuality and sexual relationships. The director seems experimental with crossovers of 'male gaze' and camera's movement and angles for horror films. For example, the look of the teen boys lingers on the female teens body is accompanied by horror music scores in the background to create an uncertainty.

However, there is a perceivable dissonance in this title; at times it feels such crossovers / blending of sexual and teen movie elements do not go well with horror elements. It feels like a student film following textbook guidance of making a horror film. It is not difficult for the audience to guess that something is going to happen. The music is also a bit monotonous.

Besides, the director is conservative in making the female character stronger and balance the power between teen boys and girls. For example, females are again victimized in the title, and with males being the brave ones - no matter in which ways.

There are also other problems e.g., poor performance.

I'm afraid it deserves a low score.

This anti-war film, if I may classify it in that way, presents a perspective that is very different from any existing anti-war films produced by Hollywood. It shows that: no heroes in this film; no sound solution to resolve the injustice in the system; the expert fighter trained and produced by the war system can fight back, but resulted in double/triple tragedy. The investigation of Frankie's death did not start by an American Senator; instead, it was doubted by the death's best friend, a lad who's also been a soldier. The protagonist had / tried to have sex with the death's wife, but it wasn't straightforward (because he was trained to be a fighter). Apart from one conclusion, the film blurs the line of justice and injustice in the war system. That unquestionable conclusion is that: the war on Iraq is inhumane and contractors are unnecessary evils.