68 Kill
Trent Haaga’s adaptation of Bryan Smith’s novel, “68 Kill,” is a fast paced grunge energy that sets in for the first half an hour. The film is about a boy who falls head over heels with every beautiful girl he meets, even those who enjoy murdering people. It starts with a fly stuck in honey. Obviously, our leading man represents the ill fated bug while the honey is just that; you know what I mean. At its finest, this reminds one of the style epitomized by writers like Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen “cast of crooks, most of them morons” aesthetic.
It also feels like any crime film from late 1990s that were made following ‘Pulp fiction’. One great thing about the movie however, is that it does not last long before this crucial asset vanishes suddenly and it becomes apparent how shallow the characters actually are and how little humor there is in it. This article has to be written at breakneck speed from beginning to end so that you do not see its flaws. For too long though it goes at snail speed rather than recommend the ride.
In many ways Matthew Gray Gubler plays himself as Chip: trustful foolish youthfulness that never thinks ahead beyond its nose into consequences. He gets his hands dirty literally working as a sewage cleaner while his girlfriend Liza (played by AnnaLynne McCord) was once a stripper/whore who hates screwing around with her landlord every time she can’t afford rent. She persuades Chip to help her grab $68k hidden away by their landlord in a safe box when she finds out about it.
As things turn out, Chip soon realizes neither he nor Lisa will ever get away from what they did to Violet (Alisha Boe). But Liza doesn’t seem hesitant about selling off young girls she plans on bringing her to her brother who enjoys torturing women. Yeah, it’s one of those dark films. Pitch black. It’s as if this is the first time that Chip has ever noticed the threats and wickedness of the world around him. He really needs to escape from Liza. Right now.
Of all things about “68 Kill,” McCord aces it by playing a traditional femme fatale who could also be in “American Psycho” She is an embodiment of beauty which can be used for one’s personal advantage and at the same time tired with such demands. She does whatever she must to have what she thinks she deserves, whether that means sleeping with someone like Chip or slitting throat of anyone crossing her path. Rather than a sociopath, she is more like someone who stopped caring about any order in a world that has given her nothing; so now she takes it herself. I cannot think of any other actress who would make better choices than McCord does here.
I do not want to say how the film has sidelined her but there is a problem with Gubler and Boe, who become really irritating as they start acting in some kind of love interest. This movie comes off as a writer grappling with what to do next with these characters during its elongated middle section in a motel and then finally wrapping up in dark end where Chip meets another crazy murdering woman (Sheila Vand from “A Girl Walks Home at Night”).
It’s here that you begin to see Haaga’s weaknesses as a director: he can’t make this thing nearly gritty or intense enough the body count rises while we barely care nor can he write dialogue strong enough for the characters to seem like anything other than plot points. “68 Kill” doesn’t quite fill its short running time, lacking depth of character or story propelling it on screen any longer especially when it loses its lead female who was driving everything from behind the wheels.
Watch 68 Kill For Free On Solarmovies.