Stressed to Kill

Idea for the plot was good, but the acting was ... not. Almost coukd have worked as a spoof, but acting wasn't quite good enough for that. But couldn't stop watching. Does pick up at the end.

In Alfred Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train"(1951), two strangers each agree to kill someone the other person wants disposed of. In "Stressed to Kill" (2016) history repeats itself, only this time the protagonists are two very good friends. One of them he does more than that, he first train himself by killing several very annoying people that appear in his pathetic existence, managing to escape the stress permanently produced by his own wife, who has an affair with a big belly idiot. Bill Oberst Jr. is very effective in the role of Bill Johnson. I found myself in the character, I do not like neither to be bothered by morons in cinemas. The difference is that I do not kill people. I beat a few, that's right, on several occasions, in different theaters at different films. Armand Assante is OK in the role of unorthodox policeman and a little mental disturbed himself. The movie is good but I would have liked it more faster, more dynamic, it has some moments when the pace is too slow.

Just watched it on Amazon, frame rate was a bit off at some points but that could just be my connection... apart from that there's nothing really wrong with it, in fact it was really entertaining, didn't mind the acting at all, didn't come across too cheesy, budget was low but I've seen way way lower... the lead actor I liked, his buddy I liked, everyone they hated I hated... the crazy cop was fun... yeah I had a good time... I'm no movie critic but it is what it is and if you try and pick at things like a lot of the reviews do then you probably don't want to enjoy it, where's the fun in that? Give it a watch, if you like it you like it, if you don't you don't, it's that simple....

Checked this movie out because I'm a fan of Bill Oberst Jr. He is an awesome actor. But I do admit he has been in some low budget messes. This is not one of them! It's indy and I expect the budget was not that of a big Hollywood movie but it really doesn't show. Production quality was good, lighting & sound were decent and surprisingly the actors were all pretty good! Usually indies spend their budget on a couple big stars and the rest are..... well to be nice not as good quality. This was different though. I of course feel Bill was the stand out but the other actors who played his best friend and the cop who was after him carried their weight. Even the smaller roles were filled with actors of quality. That made all the difference in the world for me! As someone else stated it is more of a black comedy then a thriller. I think we can all relate to Bill on some level. He does what we wish we could do. There were a lot of "hell yeah" moments when he took someone down. I thoroughly enjoyed this flick from beginning to end and more then likely will watch it again. May have to buy the DVD for the collection.

I was actually excited to screen this. I heard mixed reviews, but the negative reviews were from colleagues that I don't necessarily respect. This is a nice mash up of a dark comedy and a thriller, the concept is fresh and the characters are well developed for the most part. The technical side isn't really newsworthy, good or bad, about what you'd expect from a higher end indie which is certainly my cup of preferred tea. Although some of the continuity errors stick out, in particular a magic coffee cup that can't seem to find a consistent home(you'll see what I mean when you watch it) I'm a big fan of Bill Oberst Jr and this role was right in his hot zone, the perfect role for him. I'll pretty much watch anything he's in. Without having access to the script, I can venture an educated guess that some of his dialogue that fell short was a writing issue and most of the dialogue that was on point was likely improv on Oberst's part. The other lead, Armand Assante, complimented Bill well but unfortunately struggled to hold his own from a pure talent standpoint. The supporting cast was passable, bright in some spots but fell short in others. Not sure if I can chalk this up to poor direction or poor casting by the producers. I'm familiar with Mark Savage's work and skill so I'd probably put this one on the producers. Savage puts out work that I am happy to pay to see. All in all I am pleased with this film. It drags a bit in the second act, but not horribly. Some of the performances are uneven, but overall good.