Rented (on iTunes, once again) the new thriller/suspense flick Becky. This is what you get when Home Alone is honest with the violence perpetrated on the bandits… or if John McClane is secretly a twelve year old girl. And a budding sociopath.
The film follows a family to their vacation home which is promptly taken over by escaped convicts looking for a mysterious key. Only the young daughter manages to elude the men and what follows is her attempt to save her family… and take bloody revenge.
Because ooh baby does this movie get violent… grisly, gory, practical, bloody violent. In her attempt to Home Alone and Die Hard her way out of the situation, these crooks take a beating… and a gouging… and an eyeball plucking amount of hurt. It’s fun in a gross way and you’ll know if that’s the kind of film you want to watch. Just keep in mind this isn’t child’s play… Becky is a serious revenge machine. And, to the film’s credit, she isn’t able to beat these men hand-to-hand… she uses traps, surprise attacks, and heavy machinery so there’s a modicum of believability.
Speaking of believability… the lead criminal is played by Kevin freakin’ James and Becky’s dad is played by Joel McHale… and yet there are few laughs in the film. In fact, James vanishes into his depiction of a violent Neo Nazi psychopath. He’s pretty unrecognizable in both appearance and performance. He’s very good. And McHale plays it light for awhile as the Dad of an angsty teenager but the movie never relies on his comedic abilities. It’s fascinating seeing those two names above the title and not get Paul Blart: Mall Cop 3.
The flick is just fine at what it sets out to do: a twist on a home invasion movie and on an 80s kids vs. adults flick. It’s not a kid’s movie at all and it ain’t going for laughs, except in the “OOH! Did you see THAT?!” kind of way. I enjoyed it. It’s not perfect but it’s a good enough and just a fun little violent flick. And I liked Becky… she’s a bad-ass but maybe not so sane by the end.
Score: 78