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| We may have missed this on release week, but here's our review anyways. |
The world is on fire.
All it takes for anyone to see this is to flip on the news or spend five
minutes on social media. Every day, it
seems like something even more outrageous and crazy happens somewhere in the
world, or to be more accurate, happens in America.
The last couple years have given us numerous
films that are reflective of the crazy times we've been living in. Films like Get Out, Sorry To Bother You,
BlackKklansman and Blindspotting have all provided some social commentary for
the state of America today. Now comes
Assassination Nation, which dials it up to 11 with its bat-shit insanity!
Written and directed by Sam Levison, the plot synopsis for
Assassination Nation reads, "After a malicious data hack exposes the
secrets of the perpetually American town of Salem, chaos descends and four
girls must fight to survive, while coping with the hack themselves." No name is more appropriate than 'Salem',
with this film swapping 17th century witch hysteria for 21st century social
media hysteria, yet still staying true to the theme of the town's residents
blaming its troubles on adolescent women.
As if navigating high school isn't hard enough, our young heroines, led
by relative newcomer Odessa Young, struggle to maintain their innocence, and
sanity, as their entire world crumbles around them and descends into
chaos.
In its opening minutes, Assassination Nation makes it
crystal clear just what kind of film is in store for you. It's going to examine many issues plaguing
society: toxic masculinity, slut-shaming, victim blaming, homophobia, sexual
objectification, etc and shove them right down our throat, and rightly so,
because we've passed the point of subtlety.
There's no more dancing around these issues, hoping people pick up on
the themes. America has gone bananas,
and it's time to start addressing its problems head on.
Assassination Nation shouldn't get attention for just its
themes alone. The technical aspects are
just as obvious. The camera has no
problem making its presence known, as the film breaks into a multitude of split
screens numerous times throughout its runtime, directing and redirecting your
attention. The hyper stylization of the
cinematography is reflective of the in your face social media age we're living
in. Everything we see these days is
moving a mile a minute, vying desperately for your attention, until you get
bored 10 seconds later and move on to the next thing. The bloody violence is brutal, raw, and in your
face. You're not quite sure whether to
cheer or gasp as blood runs rampant.
There's particular scene that has the eeriness of a slasher film as the
camera moves around the outside of a house, tracking the movements of its inhabitants
in uncomfortably voyeuristic fashion.
It's arguably my favorite scene of the film.
This is the one of those rare films that gives you exactly
what you're expecting, yet also somehow manages to surprise the hell out of
you. It's loud, violent, and in your
face. It's what The Purge movies have
been trying to do these last few years, yet couldn't quite pull off. To be more direct, Assassination Nation is
what The Purge (especially The First Purge) should've been. America has some serious issues right now,
and this film is trying to bring them front and center. If I were you, I'd go in blind, don't even
watch the trailer beforehand. But be
forewarned, this experience is not for the faint of heart. There's a lot of ugliness on display, and
some people might not be ready for what that says about them.
-Derek Miranda
