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Chaos' from pro-wrestler David DeFalco proudly proclaims
itself as "The most brutal movie ever made" and while that
is a questionable statement, it is a highly effective and
emotional horror film. What is more disturbing than the
violence on the screen is the people doing it. They are
pure evil and have no problem stating so proudly. Signs
of humanity, human nature, or compassion need not apply.***
'Chaos' was released in the fall of 2005 and caused
quite a backlash from film critics all over. Roger Ebert
gave the film zero stars and went on to get into a verbal
debate on-line with the producer and director about the
film. Ebert was against the films message, abuse of women,
and approach. DeFalco and company claimed the film was showing
a true and honest portrayal of evil. It was not glamorous
and there was no happy ending.***
The film was originally planned as a remake of Wes
Craven's debut film from 1972 entitled 'The Last House On
The Left', but they felt it was original enough to stand
on its own. The film is not a carbon copy like Gus Van Sant's
'Psycho', but it is extremely similar to Craven's film.
A few changes are made such as including a black girl, an
interracial relationship, and a few things here and there.
Wes Craven's 'Last House On The Left' was an idea from another
movie, so that can be forgiven and not dwelled on.***
Two young girls are on their way to a rave when they
make a decision they will regret for the rest of their lives.
They are looking to score some drugs and run into Swan (Sage
Stallone) who is more than willing to provide them with
the drugs. They must meet up with his friends at the cabin
in order to secure the drugs. His friends include Kevin
Gage who is known as Chaos, Stephen Wozniak, and KC Kelly.
They are a group of escaped convicts looking to have a good
time at the expense of the two girls.***
The film then goes into graphic detail as to the torture,
mutilation, and rape of the young girls. It is difficult
to view, bloody, and pretty disgusting. I had a rather difficult
time watching and I'm not easily repulsed. The question
is then was I disgusted by the shock value or was it the
way the story was being told? The answer I came up with
was the way the story was being told, the documentary like
footage, and the convincing performances by everyone involved.***
The victims give performances that had me wanting to
leap out of my chair and save them. The bad guys, especially
Kevin Gage, gave such an evil, dark, and disturbing performance,
I wanted to attack him and was hoping and praying he got
his. The cardinal sin of cinema is being boring. 'Chaos'
is far from boring. It is ruthless, in-your-face, and disturbing.
The film is going to get you to react. In some shape or
form.***
The direction is done in almost a documentary style
fashion. It feels too real. Which adds another eerie and
surreal feel to it. Since at times you put yourself in the
shoes of the victims and ask yourself how would you react?
I have some problems with how the film ends, I don't think
a lot of what happened would have happened. I also would
have liked some kind of payoff to enhance the emotional
effect.***
Image & Sound:
I would have liked a widescreen transfer, as the film
is only in fullscreen. But outside of that, the transfer
is clear and shows no signs of grain. Which is impressive
for an indy flick. ---
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