The Killer Inside Me

[Ed Hocken]

This may be brutal to watch but it looks fascinating as hell.

[B_Metal]

I'll give it a go. Seems interesting.

[Ben Thomas]

Casey Affleck and Michael Winterbottom demand your attention.

This one is apparently a tough watch, but a pretty great adaptation. Saw a 5 minute 'sizzle' reel some months ago. Certainly brutal, but Affleck seems to be right on form and surprisingly Alba and Hudson seem to be doing damn good work. Hudson actually looks pretty hot too.

[BillyG]

So much hype/controversy after doing the festival circuit had me kind of wondering if it was worth my time. Empire did a really well done spread after all that controversy simmered down, and presented the film as a really intriguing piece of work. I'm going to try and make time to see it.

[Ingrid]

Hmmm, considering the last two movies I went to see in the theater that looked that interesting were Precious and Brothers...I think I'll wait for the Netflix. I can't handle another fucked up movie in a darkened room.

ETA: It does look really good though.

[Shit Dickface]

The book is fucked (in a good way), so I'll probably watch this like a madman.

[Ben Thomas]

Its very good. There are a couple of scenes of very brutal violence, but nothing on the level of, say, Irreversible.

Its actually extremely sexy at times, which I didn't fully expect. Everyone is on good form and the cast is richer than I thought. The top dogs are obviously Affleck (not quite Jesse James form, but not far behind) Alba (excellent), Hudson (the heart of the film), Elias Koteas, Brent Briscoe and Tom Bower, who is shaping up to be the next Richard Jenkins after turns in this and Bad Lieutenant recently. Also excellent, and its nice to see him with a meaty role, is Simon Baker who I've liked since LA Confidential and who doesn't seem to get enough work. He's probably the 4th or 5th biggest part here and he does good stuff.

It a sweaty, atmospheric film and one that feels like it will linger with me for some time. While it jumps straight in to the story with little setup, it also takes its time to tell its story, letting the characters breathe and the plot move forward at a steady pace. It feels very true to the source material and the ending reminded me somewhat of Kiss Me Deadly, without giving too much away. Definitely well worth a watch, but be prepared - while its not showy with its violence, it doesn't pull any punches.

Excellent use of Shame On You too - I wonder if that was a late addition to the soundtrack?

[Abraham Smashington]

Awesome to hear about Koteas. I fucking love that guy.

[Ben Thomas]

Yeah, Koteas is great. He sort of disappears from the film towards the end, but every scene he's in is electric.

There were quite a few walk outs in my screening. Bizarrely, not during the central beat-down scene, but some 20 or 30 minutes later. I think the honest sexuality of it (Hudson tasting sex on Affleck's cock, for one) seemed to rile people as much as the violence.

As I was going for my ticket, a couple of late 30's single mums were looking at the board for a film that started soon. They picked this. Yeah, they didn't last. The two girls on my row stayed just long enough to eat their nachos and then walked out, as did several other younger viewers. I'm curious to know what they thought they were seeing - presumably some Saw-esque horror-thriller. Conversely, the oldest woman I've ever seen in a cinema stayed for the whole thing and seemed to think it was quite good, as she talking to herself when I left.

[B_Metal]

Good to hear about this one. I'm really looking forward to it.

[Captain Russ]

Gonna see the Keach in the original adaptation beforehand.

This and Dragon Tattoo have piqued my armrests.