Director: Matthew John Lawrence
Year: 2020
Country: USA
Alternate Titles: N/A
Genre: Possession; Horror/Comedy
Plot:
Trying to get their career going, the promoter for an upcoming punk-band heading out for their first tour is forced to rent a van from an untrustworthy local, and as they come to find that he turns into an uncontrollable flesh-eating monster whenever he gets upset they struggle with stopping the tour or continuing on.
Review:
There was quite a lot to like with this one. One of the brightest aspects to enjoy here is the strong and enjoyable bond between the band which is what allows this to be quite funny for the most part. From the beginning, we’re given plenty of light-hearted moments about the connection between the band who are the stereotypical lazy group of underachievers who poke fun at each other, rely on the determined girl to get all the work done and just don’t go for the lifestyle making for some comedic moments with their unprofessionalism. That carries over into the later parts where the sheer unfazed nature they share over the situation which extends to how they accept the demonic condition which is revealed quite early on not only adds to this but simply makes for a fun, light-hearted effort here.
As well, with the more enhanced horror elements that are present once they realize the character is a ravenous creature the film provides plenty of solid sequences. Letting the wild, savage nature of the creature loose with the ability to rip people to pieces in graphic fashion features plenty of over-the-top aspects with the full-on gore and kills getting quite worked over here. The splatter-filled scenes with the encounters between the venue promoter, the raucous fans they meet in the parking lot and the later encounter with the rival band are not only hilarious but feature plenty of great gory goodness as well, providing practical effects work as well. Combined with the impressive high-energy music they create for their band, there’s quite a lot to like here with this one.
The film does have a couple of issues. It's biggest issue is the fact that the pacing here is incredibly off in the second half as there’s a long stretch where nothing much happens. Once they realize that he’s the way he is, it seemingly grinds to a halt with the band coming to terms with his condition and agreeing to go along with how to handle his status that seems to play on the joke that the group knows but are trying to convince themselves he’s not going to hurt him which plays out rather oddly. As well, the scenes at the house which are turned into a flashback featuring the outcome of the rival band being incredibly similar to a previous encounter come off as lazy and hold this back somewhat, and overall tend to be the film’s only flaws.
Overview: ***.5/5
A highly enjoyable effort that tends to get a few minor issues wrong here to hold it back but isn’t truly detrimental all that much, there’s quite a lot to like with this one which manages to give this a fun air for the most part. Give this a look if you’re into this kind of genre effort or are curious about this based on the appearance and/or title, while those who don’t like the silly type of genre film should heed caution.
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