'Random Acts of Violence' Review
NR
Runtime: 1 Hr and 20 Minutes
Production Companies: Elevation Pictures, SND Films
Distributor: Shudder
Director: Jay Baruchel
Writers: Jay Baruchel, Jesse Chabot
Cast: Jesse Williams, Jordana Brewster, Niamh Wilson, Jay Baruchel
Release Date: August 20, 2020
What are the real consequences when life begins to imitate art? Comic book creator Todd Walkley, his wife Kathy, assistant Aurora and best friend, Hard Calibre Comics owner Ezra, embark upon a road trip from Toronto to NYC comic con and bad things start to happen. People start getting killed. It soon becomes clear that a crazed fan is using Todd's "SLASHERMAN" comic as inspiration for the killings. As the bodies pile up and Todd's friends and family become victims themselves, Todd will be forced to take artistic responsibility.
This isn’t Jay Baruchel’s first rodeo as a director. His directorial debut was the sequel to the sleeper hit comedy Goon, Goon: Ride of the Enforcers. Now, Canada’s sweetheart is dipping his toes into horror for his sophomore feature. With Random Acts of Violence, Baruchel does a good job establishing and maintaining a dark, sinister, and aggressive atmosphere. It’s very much a slasher flick and boy is it gory. He goes straight into the sick and twisted imagery and, as far as execution goes, it’s rightfully disturbing. I never got any chills, but I was impressed by the gory visuals.
Oh, the movie is also short. Its runtime is 80 minutes and that includes the credits. I have to respect a short movie that doesn’t prolong anything. It’s really fast-paced and goes straight into the meat of the plot… even though that meat is undercooked.
Despite its intriguing premise, Random Acts of Violence is generic due to the subpar acting and very obvious storytelling. The film is based on a one-shot graphic novel from 2010, which I’ve heard good things about. However, it heavily lacks substance when translated into film, especially when it wants to deliver a message on exploitation of tragedy. As the killings from this author’s horror comic become reality and begin to affect his friends and family, they internalize the horrors that occur around them and do nothing to prevent them. The Scooby-Doo gang would be more proactive than they were.
While the majority of the cast is decent, Jesse Williams, who portrays the lead, Todd, is bad in this film, which is weird because Willams is a good actor. His delivery often feels flat, especially when the scenes of terror intensify and he is never convincingly scared. Jordana Brewster, Baruchel, even Niamh Wilson are good, but what the hell happened with Williams? Yeeesh.
Oddly enough, I just submitted a review of a film that focused on whether you can separate the art from the artist and, to reiterate, yes you can, but it’s very situational. That plays into Random Acts of Violence’s main theme, but it instead focuses on delivering a formulaically repetitive slasher narrative where the group comes across crime scenes that reflect the imagery in Todd and Ezra’s graphic novel. They freak out about it or blame each other, then encounter another crime scene that is ripped from the comics only to start the cycle all over again. It lacks any real progression and development. The story itself is also really predictable. Not long after the conflict is presented, you’re able to predict what the twist is, where that story goes, and the killer’s motives. Because of the overall obviousness and formulaic delivery, you sit there feeling empty, watching an empty movie that doesn’t really know what it wants to say or do aside from delivering buckets of blood and gore. This might suit horror fans who want that kind of B-movie vibe with a Wes Craven-esque atmosphere. In my opinion, Random Acts is far from anything I’d recommend to anyone, but shout out to Jay Baruchel for being a versatile filmmaker.
