Random Acts of Violence (2020) Drinking Game
Take a Drink: for comic book interlude
Take a Drink: for every disturbing tableau
Take a Drink: for every murder
Do a Shot: for every verse from the Book of Revelations
By: Henry J. Fromage (Three Beers) –
With Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg getting into the producing game, Jonah Hill with a film and several Oscar noms under his belt, and now both James and Dave Franco directing, perhaps it’s surprising that Jay Baruchel hasn’t gotten into the director’s chair before now. I mean, even Danny McBride is making Halloween flicks now.
C’mon McLovin, what’s your deal?
Random Acts of Violence stars Jesse Williams as a graphic novel writer focused on the graphic exploits of a real-life serial killer, and Jordana Brewster as his partner who’s writing her own book focused on his victims. When they go on a book tour with two of their friends/coworkers (Baruchel and Niamh Wilson) along the route of the killings, I’ll give you two guesses what happens next.
A Toast
It soon becomes apparent what Baruchel’s game is here- he’s interested in interrogating the sensationalizing of real murderers and their horrific deeds, but while also making a slasher film that mashes some of the same entertainment buttons. It’s a tightrope walk, and he navigates it about as well as you can.
Admirably, Baruchel shoots all of his kills in a brutal, unromanticized manner despite the very Hannibal murder tableaus that are precisely the opposite which the killer produces and we see afterwards. He really wants you to think about what you’re accepting as entertainment, and then offering up that entertainment on a platter afterwards- not every first-time filmmaker would dare tackle such obvious incongruities.
Ultimately Baruchel delivers a short (barely 80 minutes) and brutal film with as much strobelit style as he can muster. In the end we basically get an alternate Hannibal ending of our own, and possibly a better one- there’s no doubt Baruchel was a fan of the show, and I for one am okay with that.
Beer Two
These themes aren’t exactly new or original ones, and it’s not clear Baruchel has much new to say about them. It all makes for a plenty watchable genre film, but not one that sets itself apart from its peers in the way Baruchel seems to be shooting for.
Beer Three
The victims, for instance, are no more fleshed out by Baruchel than by his comic artist who draws flack for not doing so. In fact, outside of the protagonist, nobody really has any more of an arc than your average Crystal Lake camper.
Verdict
Jay Baruchel aims a bit higher than he hits in his directorial debut, but Random Acts of Violence still delivers on some inventive genre thrills.
