Il bosco dell'orrore

The central characters in The Violent Kind sure don't conform to the 'ugly, burly, leather-clad, bandana-wearing thug with unkempt beard and long unwashed hair' biker stereotype: best friends Q and Cody (Cory Knauf), members of tough Northern Californian gang 'The Crew', look like aspiring Levi's models, sporting carefully tousled hair and designer stubble.

Q's hard living, heavy drinking and brawling clearly hasn't prevented him from maintaining a strict fitness regime at the local gym, giving him a chiselled physique that has helped him bag a model-standard girlfriend in the form of brunette hottie Shade (Taylor Cole). Most of the time, Q and his pals hang out in their nice suburban house, but when the guys like to party hearty, they do so at a cosy woodland retreat that belongs to Q's biker mum (not a bad property portfolio for a family with no visible means of support other than some petty drug-dealing).

While this easy-on-the-eye cast is obviously going to give The Violent Kind broader appeal than a bunch of fat men with walrus whiskers and some fugly biker chicks, I really wish that The Butcher Brothers, the guys behind this indie horror, hadn't succumbed to such a trite Hollywood-ism—in my opinion, the superficiality of the pretty boy bikers and their gorgeous girls robs the film of any credibility.

After lots of unconvincing guff that struggles but fails to prove to viewers just how ruthless and reckless Q and Cody can be despite their appearances (the guys get in a couple of scraps, Q has rough sex with Shade, and the guys attend a wild biker party), the film finally starts living up to the quotes on the box that claim it to be brutal, bloody and just a bit bonkers: Cody's slutty ex, Michelle (Tiffany Shepis), inexplicably becomes possessed, bringing her to the attention of some undead rockabillies from another dimension/outer space, who strip her naked for some kind of bizarre occult ritual—but only after a spot of torturing and killing.

While none of this really makes much sense, at least its a damn sight more entertaining than all that faux bad boy biker crap. 5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

This is a film that could almost be broken into three differently toned parts along the lines of a format similar to "A.I." and "Martyrs." Likewise, the first half seems conventional enough, the second half more dangerous and the third is about as bleak as they come--by the time it finishes, how it began will be a distant memory.

"The Violent Kind" starts out as a cool and sleazy afternoon in Oakland, CA with a posse of three young biker buddies belonging to "The Crew" who are without a care or concern except living up their own impulsive behavior from rough sex, fights to drinking beer. They go to Cody's mother's 50th birthday at an isolated house and instead of finding a bunch of well-behaved and mature adults, everybody celebrates with loud rock 'n' roll, more drinking and strippers. After almost everybody leaves, the real party just gets started, one where their livers aren't going to be the only things on the line.

Cody's ex girlfriend returns a bloodied mess and asks for help. She's brought inside and placed in a bed until the remaining people left over--three guys, two gals--can figure out why their vehicles won't work and their cell phones act glitchy to get help as they're in the middle of nowhere. All the while the audience is shown mysterious others that hang outside in the shadows. They visit the only neighbor around and cryptic symbols are shown written on the walls in blood to allude to something ominous on the horizon. Soon enough things start to get really weird, as the woman on the bed turns Linda Blair-like possessed and with her bare hands mutilates one of the guys trying to get frisky and feel her up.

Soon enough, the mysterious outsiders show up to the house to collect something they need. Though it's like they stepped into another era or some kind of paranormal realm as there are unexplained flashes of light and these new strangers appear to be ripped out of a time warp from the '50s with their distinct attire, tunes and lingo. They've got a dark and condescending sense humor that includes torturing their hostages while playing theme music on the record player and all the while laughing sardonically like they know a big secret their captives don't. They put on a sadistic show and fit their eccentric parts like a glove, though it's a rather pointless game except to show what kind of people they're dealing with: the violent kind.

The first phase is more fleshed out and some perspective is gained of the young gang with some internal conflicts, though it's a different type of knowing as being familiar with their disregard for restraint sets a new bar for comfortable living at the expense of others as well as themselves. Everything is so rebellious, carefree and in-the-moment that it's hard to care of their safety or even their demise because they might have already had it coming. The next phase is going for mystery and cheap thrills by keeping the audience in the dark with only snippets of light to what, how or why these people are there. The ending gave a feeling of hopelessness as it left the audience as well as the characters out to dry. However, they made it too powerful and far reaching without actually showing the big picture and how these select people tie in, even if they seem incidental. It would be like watching "Night of the Living Dead," except where the TV and word of mouth by others are missing, which would leave the focus in one area but not effectively set up for how it all pans out or ties in to a global matter. Otherwise it feels exaggerated to stretch its importance.

"The Violent Kind" isn't going to be for everybody but it's definitely a different type of film which travels over a wide arc of genres and steps on any morals or taboos it can in the process. One of its setbacks is it felt like a condensed mini-series that gives assorted tastes of a little bit of here and there, but not enough to really appreciate and savor everything you just seen. It's entertaining to a degree, and with the change-ups I can't say it was boring, even if everything doesn't line up or is what it is anticipated to be. It gives some homage to other films and had some hiccups though all and all it did seem one of a kind. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores did know their job, they already did a few horrors like for example The Hamiltons. Another name that was a regular for me was Tiffany Shepis. I have seen her so many times in flicks and always she goes naked. Well, Kleenex fans, here she goes full naked with a camera pan over her body from knees to head revealing it all. Of course that's not the most important thing, or is it, to watch it. Some faces will be recognized like Joe Egender ( from The Hamiltons and other horrors) and Taylor Cole (Surrogates or The Green Hornet). And due the acting it really works but it is still a weird movie. Some parts were a bit too long with for example the rockabilly's showing up. But it do deliver on the gore. It starts of with what you think another biker movie with a lot of roughness and nudity but after 22 minutes out of the blue someone gets possessed. The story surrounding that possession is as I said a bit weird but once all is explained you surely will see the nudity and the red stuff and some gory parts. Some is done by real effects and other by CGI but it worked out fine. Not a flick for everyone but if you can take a bit of horror and science fiction than you can watch it.

The Violent Kind. After I watched this film I read some of the reviews. It was pretty appalling to see what some people had to say about this movie. Right after I saw it I wanted to purchase it. I felt like it was reviewed pretty harshly. I will say it's definitely not mainstream. If you are bored with the same old plots and twists than give this movie a shot. Personally,I had high expectations for this movie...and it surely delivered! I'm not going to ruin anything by giving a detailed review. I will say that it has bikers, vintage cars, violence,throwbacks to the 1950's and a touch of Lovecraftian twist. The actors and actresses do a very good job here. The effects are better than some you see in the mainstream trash they put out now. The plot itself keeps you guessing at what's going to happen next, which I can't say for most horror movies. Great movie and can't wait for more.

What a refreshing, fun yet gory film. I went into this thinking it was going to be your typical possession or slasher'ish type film and the beginning of the movie started to prove that I wasn't wrong. With its opening scene of loud rough sex inside and a bunch of bikers kicking the crap out of two guys outside I settled in for what I thought would be a mindless horror film that was entertaining but without much depths. I was wrong.

I can't get too much into the plot as the movie packs a surprising punch near the end but the ride to the twist was definitely a fun one. I can say that even though the movie started off as your typical horror film with its drunken party, slutty girls and drama when the party ends, that's when the fun begins.

The film starts to get very strange when a gang of 50's era punks show up looking for one of the girls at the party. I loved that they added this and found it refreshing as its nothing I have ever seen before. The gang ends up having an odd sense of humour and uses it to amuse themselves with their hostages in a series of bizarre games and such.

Overall great flick, delivers on the gore, acting, storyline all topped off with quite an amazing twist. This movie would be great for most non-mainstream horror movie lovers.

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