Customer Reviews

The Vicious Kind

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Another indie that flew under the radar, but without a doubt deserves a watch. The family angst story of two brothers interested in the same woman aggravated by bad dad relations sounds old, but the acting carries through very believably and the DVD quality turned out solid.

The Connecticut locations add a relevant blandness to these characters' dysfunctional relationships and mommy/daddy issues, but Adam Scott shines through in what I would consider his break-out performance (he got some kudos for the lame film August, and usually most recognized as being that bad brother in Step Brothers). Brittany Snow was given some notice for her bold and slightly forward role here, but I think she broke that barrier with On the Doll. I like what everyone showed here, so even though it gets slow a few times and does not explain all of the character outbursts, it should keep the discerning indie viewer entertained.

The picture and sound quality are adequate and showed no real shortcomings. The supplements include:
* Behind the scenes, 16:19 minutes. Director interviews spliced with too much clip footage, but he gives a thorough background on creation and actor support in making this film.
* Deleted scenes, 5 totaling 6:30 minutes. Four of them have optional commentary. Glad they were cut.
* Extended scenes, 5 totaling 16 minutes. Worth the watch if you REALLY liked the acting.
* Two commentaries, one with director solo and one with him and Scott.

English and Spanish subs, 5.1 English only.

I watched this more for J.K Simmons who plays the Father. He is superb as always but it's Adam Scott and Brittany Snow who really carry this picture. I was pretty blown away by Adam Scott in this picture. A superb performance, this guy has to be seen more. Not to give too much away I was expecting this to be more twisted than it actually turned out to be. But if you appreciate acting this is a must see. Only giving it Four as it did feel like it was plodding in places........over all well worth seeing.

Oh boy this movie had me squirming in my seat as it covers some not so fun family issues and the age old keep your hands off your brothers girl dude. Our main man Caleb (Adam Scott) is a man in need of a friend or someone who could just shake him and tell him to snap out of it boy. Caleb falls for the wrong girl despite his better judgement, some of us can relate I am sure. Adam Scott who plays Caleb is a great actor in my book and really makes this movie work. I fine movie well worth your time.

The Vicious Kind is perhaps labelled as a drama, but there's also elements of dark, crude and somewhat tasteless comedy as well. Definitely NOT a film for the youngsters.

It's about one brother who completely obsesses over his brothers girlfriend... however his obsession isn't exactly natural or normal. He's a VERY strange guy and comes off like a lunatic one moment, and completely friendly and relaxed the next. It's safe to assume he's got some issues upstairs.

The relationship that develops between him and his brother is pretty weird as well- he criticizes his brother and yet, there's never any fighting or hostile feelings. No angry or disagreeable feelings ever develop like you *think* they will.

Then throw in the fact the father soon enters the picture and has his OWN highly unusual personality as well and... the Vicious Kind is definitely a different style of storytelling than you're probably used to.

The girlfriend constantly gets criticized for being trampy and someone who's out to destroy her boyfriends fragile state of mind, but... I really don't wanna spoil the storyline by revealing too much information here!

Just know everything revolves around the one guy and his obsession with his brothers girlfriend.

The humor comes in the way of VERY disrespectful and sexually-related jokes that are quite strong, but honestly, these jokes feel almost right in some offbeat kind of way. I guess the jokes add some flavor and spice up the storytelling to prevent it from ever becoming stale.

I recommend the Vicious Kind to anyone interested in something strange.

Do not even glance at reviews which spoil the plot twists or reveal the outcome. If I had known how this would end, it would have ruined the entire film for me. It is not an outrageous surprise, just an intellectual twist that made the movie much more worthwhile than I expected it to be.
If you prefer movies with some thought behind them and which develop into a satisfying ending without cliche, this little gem is for you. I bought it for Brittany Snow, who is a very nice little actress with talent. She really goes against type in this so-called "dark comedy." And, to take nothing away from her abilities, she is really outclassed in this film. I saw her as Brittany Snow playing a part. Not so with any of the other major cast. For all I could tell, they may have been the real people they portrayed.
Acting, directing, screen play and virtually everything else about this low-key drama (I did not see much comedy, dark or otherwise.) were all superb. You think it's a love story about a guy and a girl or even two brothers and a girl. You can believe that all the way to the end, and then you realize, not to give too much away, the story is not really about the guy and the girl or even the two brothers and the girl. It is much deeper than that and the final 2 scenes make you wonder at how cleverly the screen writer and the actors have led you along to a not completely unpredictable ending but to an ending that finishes the movie just perfectly.
I was afraid about 5 minutes before the end that this would turn out to be another one of those awful movies that makes me write my own ending, because none of the expected plot developments were coming to any conclusion. In fact they seemed to be going nowhere except up in the air. Then POW, right in the kisser. In two short scenes everything we really need to know is exposed and resolved, deftly. At that point the movie became art, and not entertainment. I am amazed.
If you like dark comedy, this ain't it. If you like sappy love triangles, this ain't it. If you like low-key genius and don't mind it mixed with intense family drama, some sex, and some predictability (a little) this is it. It's a movie that leaves room for discussion and thought. An adult drama...Hooray.
If you've already read reviews that give plot synopsis or reveal the ending, buy it anyway. Just don't watch it until you forget. If you have not read any other reviews and this sounds intriguing...definitely buy it.
The screenplay and lead actor were both nominated for Independent Film Spirit Awards. They were well deserved. I should look up the winners that year and buy those movies to see what was good enough to beat them.

Basically a four-person film: Disgruntled underachieving older Brother. Wide-eyed college student younger brother and girlfriend. Obnoxious Father. Sound dramatic material with solid performances all-around this is a film that among other things will have you revising your notion of 'brotherly love'. Adam Scott as the alienated older brother is absolutely on fire--I haven't seen a seething with sarcasm 'angry young man' done this well since "Look back in Anger" or "Naked". One only regrets that most of the venom is wasted on displaced woman-hating when there is a whole worthy wasteland to consider.

I didn't like the ending, and some of the scenes requiring physical agility don't come off so well but it hardly matters with such a powerful lead performance--the best young male lead I've seen since Ryan Gosling's in "Half-Nelson".

Who knows? Maybe some movie viewers need to see really screwed up people to realize there are those out there worse than themselves.

Here's the scoop. Caleb is way down over a break-up with his girl. He needs to pick his younger brother, Peter, and Peter's girlfriend up from the train station and get them to dad's house for Thanksgiving. He can't join them because he's on the outs with dad. Somehow he and Pete's girl, Emma, develop a fascination for one another and things get sticky.

This is a way cool indy flick. It's an interesting situation peppered with interesting characters. Caleb is so strung out over his break-up he vacillates between being incredibly rude and then apologizing for being incredibly rude. His brother Peter is a babe in the woods. He's a virgin and thinks he loves Emma. Emma likes him well enough but is already hiding things from him and is really horny over Caleb. Dad is more than a bit on the crude side and might not be on the level with his boys on why mom left. The pot begins to boil.

This is all writing and acting. It's set in Norfolk West Virginia and the winter setting sets a feeling of isolation and loneliness experienced by the four main characters. Caleb gets the most screen time and his behavior helps keep things on edge because the viewer simply does not know what he'll do next. Adam Scott does a fine job as Caleb. He's 180 degrees from his character in "Parks and Recreation." J.K. Simmons is always good. This is the first starring roles I've seen for Brittany Snow and Alex Frost. Both do a stand-up job. Vittorio Brahm plays the somewhat challenged J.T., Caleb's work buddy. He doesn't get a lot of screen time but he's a memorable character. I'm not familiar with the director Krieger's previous works but he has two movies in the works and I'd be really interested to see what he's up to.

The production values are good enough to make this work. Nothing gets in the way. Everyone, on both sides of the camera, does a fine job. If you like indy films about screwed up ( but likeable) people this is a must see.

This was probably one of the most odd and unsatisfying indie drama films out there today, however it's hard to stop watching the oddities that take place. Throughout the film you will ask yourself, "who is this guy and what the hell is his problem?" Adam Scott played well as the angsty older brother Caleb, who is fixated on his brother's girlfriend for the fact that she looks exactly like his ex-girlfriend. He watches Emma (Brittany Snow) from afar and visions the past scenes of his ex around him. He goes as far as harassing her inside a grocery store. If Brittany Snow actually got slapped, I applaud her for it. That whole grocery store scene was my favorite. Caleb's brother, Peter, doesn't leave much of an impression. He is looking to lose his virginity to Emma, but later Caleb gets under Emma's skin, and Emma and Caleb end up doing the nasty before Peter can get any action. Emma has weird looking pajamas in this awkward sex scene. Poor Peter is lied to by everyone who claims to care about him. Caleb has such a negative overview on women, he is constantly warning Peter that women are all whores. Caleb's character is unpleasant, and hypocritical. Not to mention, the father, Donald is the root cause to all these events. All in all, The Vicious Kind gives great insight to the secrets and lies a family, a vicious family, can carry.

Adam Scott wasn't really on my radar but I caught him in the last Season 2 episode of Eastbound and Down. A couple nights later, "The Vicious Kind" was on one of my cable channels. Good God. He has such a delicate face, but with the facial hair, it seemed to help in changing his persona. Really good movie and he was smoking hot in it.

I am a writer and have much respect for fellow writers. Lee Toland Krieger not only wrote this but directed and produced as well; something I wish to do in the future. To have complete creative control over an idea makes my soul smile. I was flipping through channels and ran across this movie and decided to give it shot. It was incredible. The acting...Adam Scott, whom I affectionately call Derrick (lol his character in Stepbrothers was classic) had me on edge the entire movie. J.K. Simmons (he played the dad in Juno and Schillinger in Oz) was really good too...the entire cast did their thing. This was a really good movie, good enough to buy and I definitely don't buy movies anymore in this recession.The Vicious Kind Fat Kills