Announcement
Collapse
No announcement yet.
The Aggression Scale
Collapse
X
Collapse
-
Aggression Scale, The
Released by: Anchor Bay Entertaiment
Released on: May 29, 2012.
Director: Steven C. Miller
Cast: Ray Wise, Dana Ashbrook, Jacob Reynolds
Year: 2011
Purchase From Amazon
The Movie:
Described as a cross between Home Alone and Rambo, editor-turned-director Steven C. Miller's The Aggression Scale is a pretty entertaining little action/suspense film.
The film begins with a series of brutal murders at the hands of a gang of thugs comprised of the little bald guy (Jacob Reynolds from Gummo), the big bald guy (perennial bad guy actor Derek Mears) and the psychopath, Lloyd (Dana Ashbrook from Twin Peaks). The reason for this brutality is soon explained in a brief flashback where these thugs get their marching orders from their fresh-from-bail boss (Ray Wise). Apparently he had a large stash of cash that has disappeared and he now needs to flee the country. The thugs are given 48 hours to find the cash and so they act rather harshly and quickly.
The movie shifts uncomfortably then to a family moving to a huge house in the country. Mom, Maggie(Lisa Rotondi) and her typical teenage daughter, Lauren (Fabienne Therese), are moving in with Mom's new husband, Bill (Boyd Kestner) and his quiet son, Owen (Ryan Hartwig). Lauren is quite put out with the whole situation and sighs/pouts her way through this setup. The film spends a lot of time on her, setting her up as the probable central character for the inevitable events that are sure to come.
And, sure enough, the film becomes a home invasion film as the thugs descend upon the family the morning after they've just moved in to their fancy new country digs. The parents are quickly disposed of, despite resistance, and Lauren would be as well if it weren't for what becomes quickly evident is her step-brother's capacity for violence and creativity. Thankfully, the film shifts focus from bad actor-parents and whiny teen girl to the relentless survivalist Owen. And that's really for the better as this type of story hasn't really been explored much, where the young boy is able to fight back, to use his surroundings/environment to not only survive but to attack his hunters.
The thugs soon find Owen's medical records in an unpacked box and see that he has a history of this kind of violence - mostly against school bullies whom he lures into seclusion and then literally disables - and try as they might they're unable to fully overcome this kid. So as Owen picks them off one at a time (with Lauren's help and Lloyd's anger) the film moves quickly and efficiently at a good clip to its final showdown. And none of the action feels forced or gimmicky but, rather, within the realm of possibility of what a young kid could come up with potentially and pull off.
Video/Audio/Extras:
This BD from Anchor Bay comes with a marvelously thunderous Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack that rumbles and shocks along nicely. It even captures what I'd term as the “action swoosh†noises, when someone turns a corner with a gun or such. It's a nice touch and accompanies the film quite well. The only other audio option is for Spanish in Dolby Surround 2.0 which still rings through pretty good, too. Likewise, the widescreen (2.40:1) aspect ratio remains intact and shows off some slick camera work and cinematography which allow this film to rise above the usual type and style.
A :14-minute making-of short film is included which mostly features the film's producers and Dana Ashbrook praising the production and crew. The mood is casual and fairly genuine.
Summary:
The Aggression Scale is a smart little film that doesn't redefine the genre but doesn't really need to. It has something new to say and handles it very well in an entertaining, well-paced film. And this disc from Anchor Bay sells it successfully.
Posting comments is disabled.
Categories
Collapse
article_tags
Collapse
- album review (218)
- album reviews (274)
- arrow video (271)
- blu-ray (3225)
- blu-ray review (4162)
- comic books (1392)
- comic reviews (872)
- comics (988)
- dark horse comics (484)
- dvd and blu-ray reviews a-f (1969)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews G-M (1711)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews N-S (1757)
- DVD And Blu-ray Reviews T-Z (878)
- dvd review (2512)
- idw publishing (216)
- image comics (207)
- kino lorber (391)
- movie news (260)
- review (318)
- scream factory (279)
- severin films (298)
- shout! factory (537)
- twilight time (269)
- twilight time releasing (231)
- vinegar syndrome (497)
Latest Articles
Collapse
-
Released by: Film Masters
Released on: April 23rd, 2024.
Director: Bert I. Gordon
Cast: Richard Carlson, Juli Reding, Lugene Sanders, Susan Gordon
Year: 1963
Purchase From Amazon
Tormented – Movie Review:
The late Bert I. Gordon’s 1963 horror film, ‘Tormented,’ is an effectively spooky ghost story made with an obviously low budget but no less effective for it.
The story revolves around a professional piano player...-
Channel: Movies
04-17-2024, 10:19 AM -
-
Released by: Grindhouse Releasing
Released on: March 12th, 2024.
Director: William Grefé
Cast: William Shatner, Jennifer Bishop, Ruth Roman, Harold Sakata
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Impulse – Movie Review:
Directed by the one and only William Grefé, 1974’s Impulse is one of those rare films that allows you to witness what it would be like if a really sweaty William Shatner got mad at a lady carrying balloons. Before that...-
Channel: Movies
04-15-2024, 01:20 PM -
-
Released by: Severin Films
Released on: April 30th, 2024.
Director: Andrew Legge
Cast: Emma Appleton, Stefanie Martini, Rory Fleck Byrne
Year: 2022
Purchase From Amazon
Lola – Movie Review:
Irish filmmakers Andrew Legge’s 2022 movie, ‘Lola’, which was made during Covid-19 lockdowns, is a wildly creative movie made in the found footage style that defies expectations, provides plenty of food for thought and manages to make...-
Channel: Movies
04-10-2024, 04:09 PM -
-
Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: March 26th, 2024.
Director: Jess Franco, Jorge Grau, Pedro L. Ramírez
Cast: Alberto Dalbés, Evelyne Scott, Fernando Rey, Marisa Mell, Wal Davis, Norma Kastel
Year: 1974
Purchase From Amazon
Spanish Blood Bath – Movie Review:
Vinegar Syndrome brings a triple feature of Spanish horror films of the in this new three-disc Blu-ray boxed set. Here’s what lies inside…
Night Of The...-
Channel: Movies
04-10-2024, 04:02 PM -
-
Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: April 9th, 2024.
Director: Zelda Williams
Cast: Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, Carla Gugino, Joe Chrest, Henry Eikenberry
Year: 2024
Purchase From Amazon
Lisa Frankenstein – Movie Review:
The feature-length directorial debut of Zelda Williams, 20214’s Lisa Frankenstein takes place in 1989 and follows a teenaged girl named Lisa Swallows (Kathryn Newton) who, two years ago, lost her mother...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:40 PM -
-
Released by: Severin Films
Released on: April 30th, 2024.
Director: Gianfranco Giagni
Cast: Roland Wybenga, William Berger, Stéphane Audran
Year: 1988
Purchase From Amazon
Spider Labyrinth – Movie Review:
Professor Alan Whitmore (Roland Wybenga) is an American who works as a Professor of languages studies and has a fascination bordering on obsession with translating pre-Christian religious texts. He was also locked in a closet...-
Channel: Movies
04-03-2024, 03:37 PM -