Natural Selection

Both the protagonist and antagonist show some decent acting. A similarity of a troubled past and a lack of love and being taken care of, make the characters struggle with their lives. How they cope with this darkness differs strongly, which makes for a great tension between the two. The antagonist shows great acting skills by not being completely demonized, yet a very manipulative and snide boy who can't stop inflicting his bitterness and nihilism onto others.

The downside of this movie is that it lays it on too thick. The overwhelming amount of dramatic past incidents is just too much to remain functional in bringing the viewer to sympathize with the characters, or even makes it incredible and unrelatable.

Not all the actors are great, but it is certainly decent enough to make it worth the watch.

The main topic of interest is what the protagonist will do with the different forces in his life that are pulling him in different directions, but thanks to the good acting of the antagonist this character is also interesting to watch, aside from the unfortunate fact that he is too easy to read because of the frequent references in the script to what he is planning to do.

Lighting and screenwork is also suited to the story; not too flashy, but directing focus the right way. Music is okay, but sometimes a bit too standard for my taste, as it sometimes reminded me of those free tunes that come with your computer.

I don't watch that many 'New-kid in a small town' movies, so the common premise did not eschew me (although I suspect veterans of this may still find this one is different from the lot).

Natural Selection is a movie shot with an attention to detail. From the start, every character's nuance and mannerism (e.g drawing attention to how one character empties his pockets - becomes important later on) quickly blossoms into character defining details which becomes relevant to the movie's plot. The cinematography is good. I won't overpraise it by saying I saw Mona Lisas in this, but I enjoyed it enough that the after-images of some frames is still there in my mind's eye.

A worthwhile watch, in a kickback-on-a-rainy-Sunday kind of way.

While this movie definitely has a low-budget feel to it based on story, character depth, and music, it still manages to send an important message to the viewers.

We need more movies that bring up the end-scene topic - which is predictable - but it needs to be done with better scripts, casting, and musical score to reach people other than the Hallmark "after dark" and similar audiences.

In total, not bad for what it is. Nice to see a movie with an actual ending for once!

Overall a very good film that i thoroughly enjoyed, although a relatively simple story line that is somewhat predictable it is done in a way that is still very interesting to watch. Chad Scheifele attention to detail in his characters made both Indrid and Tyler in particular really come to life. The similarity between the protagonist and antagonist made for a dynamic that shows how a person's response can define and change their situation. The dark and twisted side of both Tyler and Indrid made the characters feel particularly relatable to the deep, dark thoughts we all hide with in. Definitely a must watch for anyone who enjoys character based stories that build the foundation for a compelling film.

I think this does a good job of dissecting the idea of a school shooter type, but outside of building Indrid's character, everything is pretty slow, dry, and bland. This movie felt exceptionally long, and the first semi-interesting event occurs within 15 minutes of the end; left me feeling especially dissatisfied. Feels like a cheap and serious take on the Heathers.