This movie is one that caught me by surprise when I saw it for the first time. I was expecting nothing as I entered the cinema, but it hit me right in the stomach.
At first as absolutely hilarious, I was just LMAO as the film crew followed this complete moron around town as he killed people. Nothing heroic at all about this killer. In fact I haven't seen any single character in any movie that was such an idiot and SOOOO full of himself. You can actually see how this guy enjoys his "15 minutes of fame" and is quite pleased with the fact that someone is interested in what HE is doing.
So there I was laughing all over the place (we were only two out of the entire audience, but we were rolling in our chairs to say the least).
One of my favorite places in the film is where Ben explains how he cunningly has saved a bullet in the slaying of an old more or less helpless female. Like a detective showing his extraordinary skills to the humble bystanders (the film crew and me). The Hercule Poirot of the killing industry.
The movie kept me laughing, as the camera crew got more involved with the killer and I was reaching my laughing climax as "mentor" Ben made the crew a Drunken Baby drink at the bar only to be on the verge of puking with laughter as Ben 5 minutes later was on the sidewalk "fucking" a black plastic bag with a Santa Claus beard on his face. SOOO funny.
But then........just as I was enjoying myself the most, I was stopped dead in my tracks and asked what I was laughing at as that horrific rape scene had played out and we found ourselves (the crew, Ben and myself) lying on the kitchen floor with the two gutted people just sitting there on the kitchen table like dolls with their guts all over the place. Very unpleasing not to say unsettling and disturbing.
I had become so engrossed in the fun and laughter that I had allowed myself to uncritically tag along without thinking about what was really taking place: Murder, Dehumanisation (is that a word) and arrogance. I had become like Ben for just a moment. I had crossed from viewing the horrific deeds to if not being an active part of it then at least condoning what was going on, I had lost just an inch of my humanity which could never be retrieved.
As far as I'm concerned the movie could have ended right there, but it kept on going with me laughing along the way, but my laughter was kind of hollow from that point on, I had seen myself from the outside and could not go back.
That is IMO what makes this film so powerful, it poses the question of when are you a simple bystander and when are you actually part of the problem. YOU, yes that's YOU, have to takes sides. What is acceptable? What is not? It's all about values and taking a stand when you need to.
In this sense, this seemingly inhumane movie is in fact the opposite. A movie that beckons the viewer to make his voice heard in everyday life. You are never just a bystander! Take a stand!!! NOW!
At first as absolutely hilarious, I was just LMAO as the film crew followed this complete moron around town as he killed people. Nothing heroic at all about this killer. In fact I haven't seen any single character in any movie that was such an idiot and SOOOO full of himself. You can actually see how this guy enjoys his "15 minutes of fame" and is quite pleased with the fact that someone is interested in what HE is doing.
So there I was laughing all over the place (we were only two out of the entire audience, but we were rolling in our chairs to say the least).
One of my favorite places in the film is where Ben explains how he cunningly has saved a bullet in the slaying of an old more or less helpless female. Like a detective showing his extraordinary skills to the humble bystanders (the film crew and me). The Hercule Poirot of the killing industry.
The movie kept me laughing, as the camera crew got more involved with the killer and I was reaching my laughing climax as "mentor" Ben made the crew a Drunken Baby drink at the bar only to be on the verge of puking with laughter as Ben 5 minutes later was on the sidewalk "fucking" a black plastic bag with a Santa Claus beard on his face. SOOO funny.
But then........just as I was enjoying myself the most, I was stopped dead in my tracks and asked what I was laughing at as that horrific rape scene had played out and we found ourselves (the crew, Ben and myself) lying on the kitchen floor with the two gutted people just sitting there on the kitchen table like dolls with their guts all over the place. Very unpleasing not to say unsettling and disturbing.
I had become so engrossed in the fun and laughter that I had allowed myself to uncritically tag along without thinking about what was really taking place: Murder, Dehumanisation (is that a word) and arrogance. I had become like Ben for just a moment. I had crossed from viewing the horrific deeds to if not being an active part of it then at least condoning what was going on, I had lost just an inch of my humanity which could never be retrieved.
As far as I'm concerned the movie could have ended right there, but it kept on going with me laughing along the way, but my laughter was kind of hollow from that point on, I had seen myself from the outside and could not go back.
That is IMO what makes this film so powerful, it poses the question of when are you a simple bystander and when are you actually part of the problem. YOU, yes that's YOU, have to takes sides. What is acceptable? What is not? It's all about values and taking a stand when you need to.
In this sense, this seemingly inhumane movie is in fact the opposite. A movie that beckons the viewer to make his voice heard in everyday life. You are never just a bystander! Take a stand!!! NOW!