Censorship: a word that strikes many a fear and/or excitement into both film makers & fans alike; and a word I think, director James Cullen Bressack may too be facing very soon with his sophomore feature HATE CRIME. I won’t pander you guys with a history of British Board of Film Classification’s loath of extremities in the horror genre, I’m sure you’ve all seen Jake West’s fascinating documentary “VIDEO NASTIES” (and if you haven’t, then stop reading now [don’t really] and check it out). But a recent tally of their lynch mobbings- starting with the refusal to classify an uncut version of A SERBIAN FILM, up to a similar ‘banning’ with HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2 and most recently THE BUNNY GAME- shows the good old BBFC still get their pristine white panties in a twist when it comes to showing the sexual gratification at violence. Now my personal opinion on this matter is another story for another day, but you can deduce it from the following two tenets. HATE CRIME features a heavy amount of content to chum the waters around the BBFC offices; and, to cut to the chase, I really quite liked HATE CRIME.
HATE CRIME depicts the less-than-cheery (understatement alert) events that unfold after a group of borderline personality disorder amygdala-cases invite themselves to the birthday party of the most ABC friendly American family you can imagine. It’s familiar ground for pretty much anyone that has seen more than 20 films in their life; but sometimes it’s that which is familiar that can surprise us the most.
At a paltry 20 years old, Bressack has a lot of experience under his belt; numerous short offerings and a theatrical release of his feature debut, times are a good for the young chap. Now with his second stab at pushing past the 60minute watermark, the director decided to eschew a safe stick-to-what-you-know follow up and gives us a bold, in your face & -as we’ve already touched on- nasty take on a swiftly stagnating subgenre: found footage. Now stop right there naysayer, I’ve heard aplenty of your I-don’t-need-another-Blair-shit-rehash, it’s a boring criticism and stands only to make you miss some of the best the genre has to recently offer. Rant over. Bressack doesn’t just use the found footage element as a cheap way to tell a story, rather I don’t believe any other shooting style would evoke such an powerful experience as the movie provides. By virtue of its medium, HATE CRIME is a very, *very* intense 75 minutes. Played out almost in real-time, shot as if it was one take thanks to some clever ROPE-esque edit-masks, and bolstered by a improvisational dialogue heavy but nonetheless tight script, the movie is a perfect exercise in terrifying realism.
A terrifying realism whose ‘terrifying’ness is at both its peak & valley on the performances of its ensemble-of-unknowns cast. When they’re good, they’re startling. Yet when they’re bad, things get pretty trite pretty quick. Thankfully the latter case is in the minority (and only one moment- “my little brother, my little brother” for those that’ve seen it- comes to mind in retrospect), and it is much easier to conjure congratulations to mind than complaints. The masked thugs were suitably nasty & did their job aptly. The parents also, fulfil their purpose. Where the standouts really were for me were in the two teenage leads. Both Nicholas Clark (Tyler) & the wonderful pseudonymed Debbie Diesel (Lindsay) put on a gloriously intense performance rarely seen this side of snuff. Some say it’s easy to do the screaming role. Some say it’s easy to play the shellshocked victim. But when it’s played as well as Clark & Diesel do it, the hardness of a role becomes trivial. Particular kudos go to Clark for taking both one of the most insane scenes, and one of the most harrowing scenes and playing each with nuance & apposite horror. I can’t wait to see him in more roles. The future looks, hopefully, bright for both of these kids.
But quite possibly the most impressive thing about the movie, is its ability to take the viewer consistently by surprise. The first occurrence of this made this jaded reviewer physically gasp, pause the movie to gather thoughts, then giggle in actually being caught out. James Bressack’s sense of timing is a thing to behold, plot points that are harrowing in themselves are all the more terrifying when played so bluntly & off beat. Such a deft hand at syncopation makes me salivate at the possibility of what the director could do with a jump scare & a ghost flick. Yes, James, if you’re reading, that’s a hint.
HATE CRIME definitely isn’t a film everyone’s going to enjoy; for some it’ll be too intense, for others a little messy in its camera work, and for certain sensitive of mind folks- a tad on the offensive side. Yet for those than can overcome this, it’s a deftly paced, gruelling and controversial exercise in claustrophobia. Deliciously disturbing & verifiably verite, HATE CRIME is an indie gem any horror or thriller fan would be loath to miss.
7 duct tape / 10 pool tables
And that’s my two cents.
MyTwoCentsFilm 