IMDb RATING
5.3/10
1.4K
YOUR RATING
Odessa and Kyle James were just your average American boys until the night they went upstairs and killed their parents in cold blood... and smiled.Odessa and Kyle James were just your average American boys until the night they went upstairs and killed their parents in cold blood... and smiled.Odessa and Kyle James were just your average American boys until the night they went upstairs and killed their parents in cold blood... and smiled.
Burke Morgan
- Charles Ryan
- (as C.T. Miller)
Joseph E. Jones-Marino
- Patrolman
- (as Joseph Jones-Marino)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I saw a midnight premiere of this movie in college and it quickly disappeared, but it stuck in my head long after I forgot the title, and I'm lucky I re-found it. No one in that theater knew what to expect from this movie, and it start out as everyone's worst nightmare: a cheap, clichéd crime drama. A lot of people walked out after the first 20 minutes, but I was determined to stick it through. And I'm really glad I did.
At the twist point in this movie, the horrible clichés and acting and directing of the first half feel like an amazingly underplayed setup to a punchline with actual humor and shock. Imagine "From Dusk till Dawn" if the vampire angle hadn't been completely ruined by over promotion.
It's really rare that a movie seems to be one thing but then turns completely around halfway through into something 10x better, but this is one of those. It used the low expectations and low budget to it's own advantage and turned out a movie I never forgot.
At the twist point in this movie, the horrible clichés and acting and directing of the first half feel like an amazingly underplayed setup to a punchline with actual humor and shock. Imagine "From Dusk till Dawn" if the vampire angle hadn't been completely ruined by over promotion.
It's really rare that a movie seems to be one thing but then turns completely around halfway through into something 10x better, but this is one of those. It used the low expectations and low budget to it's own advantage and turned out a movie I never forgot.
I know a guy who came to me and told me that he had a movie he claimed to be very good. If I liked Natural Born Killers and From Dusk Till Dawn, I will love this movie. He couldn't have been more wrong. In two words, it sucked. But to use more words than that, I will say that the movie had a very funny story, it was a very nice little story concerning a couple guys who just broke out of jail and take cover in a nice suburban household. It seems dark and gloomy at first, but 50 minutes later we are revealed to a nice array of insanity. The movie actually fools you into liking it by the end. The point is, the dialogue takes more centerstage than it should and half the time, you dont even know whats going on. Nice story, bad movie. No wonder I have never heard of it before.
I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by this film too. I bought it in a bargain store today....£1 and was one of the best pounds I've ever spent. Well worth wasting away an hour or so. Almost gave up at first as one of the characters is a little irritating but I stuck with it. Some of the cinematography is excellent and it became something completely unexpected and fun in a bizarre and twisted way. It's the sort of film that you feel doesn't really know exactly what it wants to be and yet it works either in spite or because of that and as a woman I was worryingly drawn to the two brothers. Even if you don't find this film in a bargain bin somewhere it would still be worth spending a few pounds on.
I have seen this film on my local video store shelf for years but never rented it until last night. I must say it is not what I was expecting, but I found it quite entertaining. It was one hell of a crazy trip, and every time I thought I knew what was going on there was another twist. I recommend it to those who loved the insanity of Natural Born Killers, or if you just want to try something different. Dave Larsen as Odessa displayed some great acting abilities and reminded me of Mickey Rourke back in his hay days, not to mention he looked bad ass with skeleton face make-up and wielding a shotgun. The acting by C.T. Miller as Mr. Ryan and Nanette Bianchi as Jami entertained the hell out of me, and I loved every minute of it. This movie had me cracking up from beginning to end, and was quite surprised by all the crazy twists. See this film........
This is a great example of a movie that has a lot more buried in it than what you see on it's cover. Depending on your inclinations, you'll either love it or hate it when it's twisty-turny bits start to do their thing.
There are some reviews claiming that the acting is very poor. Honestly, they are not far off. The acting is slow, and so is the development. The lines are overly written, portraying a little too much imagination in long-winded passages that are almost poetic in nature. Still, I would say that the lines are delivered with as much sense and effectiveness as the actors could have mustered up. Watch it and ask yourself, "How would I have delivered that line?" and I suspect you will find yourself beginning to agree with the simple candor that the actors used on screen.
Also, in the case of the main protagonists, you start to realize that the excessively verbose mannerisms actually make a certain sense, and even become relevant later on as the characters begin to reveal their more interesting secrets. While the characters seem unreal at first, you start to see why they are the way they are later.
The film's biggest drawbacks are it's poor filming, slow movement, and it's highly unlikely circumstantial timing. What I mean by the timing is that events happen that leave you scratching your head and asking yourself, "Why, when and how did this happen?" The director feels no need to answer these questions, as the film's magic is contained almost entirely in the house where the events occur. The writers felt no need to explain why the world outside kept intruding.
Lastly, the filming is all blue and moody. It's a silly method of filming, I never liked it. Stop using the filters, bring in some dang light and make a movie we can see.
I really feel like I did NOT waste my time on this one. I don't know if I can call it original in any way other than it's incredible and unusual mix of themes, but it was definitely entertaining.
And that's really the point. Entertainment. It's the bottom line of movie making. I recommend this movie, simply because it's so.. bizarre.
I really feel like this is something of a hidden gem. It deserves a redo, a more modern reiteration to work out the bugs.
There are some reviews claiming that the acting is very poor. Honestly, they are not far off. The acting is slow, and so is the development. The lines are overly written, portraying a little too much imagination in long-winded passages that are almost poetic in nature. Still, I would say that the lines are delivered with as much sense and effectiveness as the actors could have mustered up. Watch it and ask yourself, "How would I have delivered that line?" and I suspect you will find yourself beginning to agree with the simple candor that the actors used on screen.
Also, in the case of the main protagonists, you start to realize that the excessively verbose mannerisms actually make a certain sense, and even become relevant later on as the characters begin to reveal their more interesting secrets. While the characters seem unreal at first, you start to see why they are the way they are later.
The film's biggest drawbacks are it's poor filming, slow movement, and it's highly unlikely circumstantial timing. What I mean by the timing is that events happen that leave you scratching your head and asking yourself, "Why, when and how did this happen?" The director feels no need to answer these questions, as the film's magic is contained almost entirely in the house where the events occur. The writers felt no need to explain why the world outside kept intruding.
Lastly, the filming is all blue and moody. It's a silly method of filming, I never liked it. Stop using the filters, bring in some dang light and make a movie we can see.
I really feel like I did NOT waste my time on this one. I don't know if I can call it original in any way other than it's incredible and unusual mix of themes, but it was definitely entertaining.
And that's really the point. Entertainment. It's the bottom line of movie making. I recommend this movie, simply because it's so.. bizarre.
I really feel like this is something of a hidden gem. It deserves a redo, a more modern reiteration to work out the bugs.
Did you know
- TriviaNanette Bianchi's first of only two roles in her career.
- GoofsThe family are playing charades. The child indicates a movie, with three syllables, and does her mime. The mother guesses "The Naked Gun", which has four syllables.
- Crazy creditsDedicated to the memory of Bonnie Parker, 1910-1934
- Alternate versionsThere was an alternate soundtrack over the opening scene which only aired at the 1997 Sundance Film festival
- ConnectionsReferenced in Houses of the Unholy (2023)
- SoundtracksIn-A-Gadda-Da-Vida
Details
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Also known as
- Killers
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $100,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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