Black Circle Boys

I usually do not flip through movies I have never heard of and stop and watch them, but I turned Black Circle Boys on and for some reason i couldn't turn it off. It was a movie that just kept my attention. An excellent cast made this movie even more the better. I am so amazed by this movie that I want to go out and buy it.

Black Circle Boys (1997) is loosely based on real events filled with drugs, satanism & murder. On June 19, 1984, 17 year old Ricky Kasso lured a local boy into the woods in the middle of the night in Northport, New York. There, he beat, tortured & murdered 17 year old Gary Lauwers, while several friends watched on. When several friends asked why he murdered Gary, Ricky met each inquiry with a different excuse. After the murder, Ricky & a friend ran away, destination California. Not getting far, they returned to Northport where they were arrested and charged with Gary's murder. During his interview, Ricky implicated his friend as taking part in the murder. Although Ricky told his friend that he would recant his participation the next day, Ricky Kasso hung himself in his jail cell on July 7, 1984, leaving his friend to hold the bag. 6 months after the murder, the testimonies & alibi's of his activities during the time of the murder, Ricky's friend was acquitted of all charges. (Ricky's friend's name was never officially released, the name used in the local paper was mistakenly used, but was never retracted.)

In 2000, the movie "Ricky 6" follows is a factual account of the murder, taken directly from court transcripts, testimonies & interviews of those who were present & witnessed the horror that stole the innocence of the woods & would haunt the town of Northport forever.

In my opinion, the only reason I like this movie is because of Scott Bairstow, who played Kyle Sullivan & Eric Mabius, who played Shane Carver. Scott reminds me of Shane West, but in a cute sort of way. And Eric is so freaking gorgeous, in a trailer park white trash sort of way.

Although "Black Circle Boys" seemed to have a bigger budget to make, it takes so many liberties in the events that took happened that night in the woods. I would much rather watch "Ricky 6". It stays true to the horrific crime that shocked the entire community of Northport, New York, in 1984.

Here's a very disturbing little film. It's about a young guy called Kyle (Scott Bairstow White Fang 2, The Postman, Party of Five (tv)) whose family moves to a new (and boring) little town and he ends up attending a new high school -- trying to fit in, trying to deal with being the new guy and also trying to cope with the death of his best friend. He goes from A student to loser in forty-five minutes, giving up being a top athlete in exchange for the acceptance of a group of heavy metal wannabes and large amounts of drugs - virtually everything from pot to lsd to crack. His life spirals out of control. He ends up joining the BCB who are a small group of these high school losers who practice an invented brand of Satanism in the wooded state park behind the high school. The group's leader Shane (Eric Mabius (Party of Five (tv), Lawn Dogs, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is severely disturbed and influenced by drug dealer/fence Greggo (Donnie Wahlberg yeah, that one -- New Kids on the Block, baby) who is the local Temple of Set devil worshiper who recruits local high school losers and gets them to rob houses for him in exchange for drugs.

The plot moves along slowly as Kyle sinks into this realm of madness, but once there, it spins wildly out of control -- there is much violence (including sick satanic rituals where the Shane kills a cat and then they dig up a skeleton) and even murder. The acting is superb, and makes the overall effect of the film that much more disturbing.

Where are first it appears to be just another high school nostalgia film (heck, it looked like my high school), it becomes this horror film -- but way too realistic. One keeps asking, "where are the parents, where are the cops" as these lowlifes rampage through the town pillaging and killing and just making all sorts of mayhem.

In the end, Kyle must fight the demons which are pulling him under, and the second half of the film chronicles his attempts to overcome the darkness which threatens to consume and destroy him.

"Black Circle Boys" seems promising enough. It's about a group of devil worshipping band members led by the devilish Eric Mabius who take in an outcast (Scott Bairstow), broken by the death of his best friend. The kid is cool with them, often taking bad drugs and p***ing off people, until he starts seeing their more violent sides. The film is worth watching for the strong performances from the cast, the script is realistic for the first two-thirds, and the low budget, grainy look makes things more creepier. The problem with the film is that the after an hour and fifteen minutes into the film, the screenwriter had no idea what to do with "Black Circle Boys" and turns into a silly slasher flick, with all of the typical horror movie cliches thrown in. The ending especially is a big cop-out for what seems like a great film. Overall, I recommend it for late night viewing, and if you're into independent films, it's a very interesting one, but the finale of the film is a big letdown and left me disappointed.

This isn't real bad for a cheapie that covers the life of a "super-exclusive" brotherhood that is addicted to drugs, alcohol, and violence. The faded colors appear like it was filmed in 1976, and the dark, gritty feeling illustrates the fact that Matthew Carnahan has some strong directing potential in his part of creating a sense of living a disturbing society. Remember, this is an indie effort I'm talking about here. Please don't expect this to be another blood-curled horror picture that would make the vote count rise to rapid pulse highs because this is an actual true story providing facts and figures, and it has a plot that is deep and moving. Two very interesting names in this film: Dee Wallace-Stone (E.T.) is Kyle's mother; the woman shouting and hollaring in a wild hangout scene is Grammy-nominated singer Lisa Loeb in a five-second cameo without the eyeglasses. Plus maybe a couple others, too. Why are they in this movie??? Well, I wouldn't rate it so high to call this an impressive work of art. It is a mildly entertaining surprise for a limited crowd who's got the intimate appeal to movies that portray gang violence. Fairly good, though.