 Movie: Hate Crime Year: 2012 Studio: Psykik Junky Pictures Director: James Cullen Bressack Stars: Jody Barton, Nicholas Clark, Debbie Diesel Language: English Length: 73 Minutes Sub-Genre: Found Footage, Torture, Thriller |
Plot: A family is held hostage by sadistic home intruders.
Review: I want to elaborate somewhat on the story as very little is stated on the wide range of horror websites that have summaries. So here goes; A Jewish middle class family of 5 is celebrating a birthday and Dad always films these special occasions. At the point they were about to sing Happy Birthday there was a loud noise. The father ran to see what it was and 4 masked, swastika tattooed men had gotten into the house, proceeded to gather all the family members, tie them up, degrade and do unimaginable acts of violence. This turns out to be a terrorizing brutal night, a families worst nightmare.
The movie has a very simple concept, a middle class family is held against there will in their home by 4 masked men and brutally tortured by these Hitler loving racist lunatics. Which is where the movie gets it title Hate Crime.
For starters the film is entirely handheld shaky camerawork which was a turn off immediately! Someone, anyone please tell me why so many directors and film writers are going in this direction????? I absolutely hate the shaky cam. Maybe they think that it adds a sort of realism or makes you feel as though you are in the moment with the actual events that are taking place….hmm….NO I DON’T THINK SO!!
It seems as though most of the movies that go in this direction the characters end up doing some brainless and moronic actions! Picture this "your filming a family gathering to celebrate your son’s birthday when all at once 4 masked men barge into your home wielding guns and knives, I would think that your first instinct would be to drop the fucking camera and try to protect your family, not run and hide under the bed while still filming." It’s actions such as this that really irritates me and alienates me from the story right from the get go.
Some other weak aspects of this movie would be the physical violence, like some scuffles with punches that were clearly obvious misses and if you’re going to commit an act of violent sexual nature then make sure the underwear is off or at least down on the person being violated. Plus, there is no soundtrack!! If this would of had some chilling, eerie music playing in the background in parts it would of boosted my rating for sure!
The gore in this movie is very minimal and the actual acts producing this were shied away from. There are gun shot wounds but no blood. The acting is split across the board in my opinion. Some were convincing in there character roles and others were just blatantly substandard. The men who played the intruders were actually pretty good and they had some hot bodies….lol, as far as the family goes, I was not convinced they feared for their life.
Some good points, oh that’s right there aren’t any……just joking. There is actually a scene that takes place in the opening of the movie in which I was totally shocked, it is something that rarely happens. My jaw dropped and my eyes were bugged out of my head, but they didn’t show it…….oh wow would of loved to see some blood splatter all over there! There also was another potentially gore fest scene in which I would of loved to see what happened but was let down again and only the aftermath was shown. Mr. Bressack had some very good ideas, to me they just fell a little short.
Boy I think this is one movie that could of been a pretty decent horror torture flick if it wasn’t for the handheld shaky camera, have a little more gore, actually show what is taking place and get some actors that are a little more prominent or skilled, who could pull of a convincing part.
I want to thank James Cullen Bressack for giving me the opportunity of watching and reviewing Hate Crime. I think he is a very talented man that has greater things to come.
 Reviewer: ChrisiFix Date: 08/29/2012 Rating: 3/10 Recommendation: Avoid |
 Trailer: N/A DVD: N/A BluRay: N/A Social Media: Twitter |
Hate Crime
Review by Boss Butcher
Hate Crime is a found footage movie that follows the events of a home invasion, where a family is terrorized, tortured and murdered. All of the coverage is through the lens of the family’s video camera, which is being used to film the youngest son’s birthday, but is hijacked by the perpetrators who decide to film their violent, disturbing acts.
There are several things this film does well. First, there is a decent amount of character development for a film of this type. You are shown the structure of the family efficiently, and as for the crooks invading their home, the dynamics of the trio are affected by the course of events, and by the drug use they engage in. The acting is a bit uneven, but generally not bad. Actress Debbie Diesel (who plays the daughter Lindsey) puts in the best performance.
The practical effects are mostly good, though not in overabundance. Some of the heavy contusion type wounds look realistic enough, but are noticeably wrinkled when certain facial expressions are made. One character has their eyes removed and it appears real enough, considering the camera used to capture the action. On the CGI front, one brief gunshot impact was detected and was effectively used.
The camera work, as it were, is largely what you might expect it to look like with a bunch of methed up criminals filming the action, but it has a few scenes that run long and lose their scare factor. There are also a few scenes which are shot to advance the story that thugs in real life would most likely not shoot. This is an inherent problem with found footage films, and requires the viewer to suspend disbelief to buy into the movie.
The invaders, themselves are just short of being caricatures. It is compelling to a degree to watch, but hurts the realism. That being said, the threesome’s reaction to the events that shape the story are well thought out and there is some nice use of irony involving these characters later in the film.
The scenes of the family’s torment are disturbing, though not overly gritty. There is a rape scene which is a bit difficult to watch, but even it isn’t especially realistic. Basically, though it is shot as an on-the-fly attack by the three villains, you have the distinct feeling that it is a performance, and the focus is on the story and message of the film rather than on the violent depictions the characters engage in. For example, the family members are all tied up to various chairs, but none of their binds appears to be completely restraining. Also, the physical struggles appear restrained, not crushing blows one might expect from a life and death struggle.
As far as sound goes, there is no soundtrack at all. It all sounds as if it were recorded with the microphone on the family’s camcorder. This does give it a bit of a sense of realism, but some of the dialog is lost, particularly when the attacker known as “Three” is yelling. It doesn’t really detract from the film, as you get the point that he is taunting, and terrorizing the members of the household. The gunshots sound decent. On the negative side, there is some unrealistic sounding audio when the camera itself is used as a weapon in one scene.
To sum it up, this obviously isn’t a popcorn and licorice type of movie. It is not meant to entertain, but to shock and provoke thought, and it succeeds in doing that. As the torment of the family progresses, the silly bickering of the parents, and the adolescent attitudes of the children earlier in the story, are small and petty in contrast to the threat they face. The film’s main point is to highlight that as senseless as the attack is, it is magnified by the fact that it is fueled by prejudice. The family is Jewish and the perpetrators are neo-Nazis who claim to have only wanted to scare them. It shows the ugly end result of mindless bigotry, and reminds us there are real people involved in the many news stories we read each year involving crimes motivated by hatred.
Recommending a film like this is difficult, as most viewers want a movie to entertain them in a break from their stressful lives, and this is not that kind of film. It is a look at something uncomfortable to view, and subject matter to think about. If you are not inclined to digest the topics presented, relying on the technical and story driven aspects of Hate Crime exposes some of its weak points. I recommend watching it, but rate it 5.5/10