SXSW 2020 - Killer Instinct (Tone Deaf)
SXSWHaving broken up with her boyfriend, Olive (Amanda Crew) decides she needs to take some time out of the city and rents a house in the country from an ageing widower (Robert Patrick). Once she gets there, she quickly realizes that she might not be as alone as she thought and the lonely widower starts to show some murderous tendencies and little patience for the younger ‘millennial’ generation.
Placing a generational clash at the core of the Killer Instinct is a solid premise and certainly sets the film off in an interesting direction but, short of some entertaining moments where characters break the fourth wall, it feels a little underused. Tapping into the animosity between “boomers” and “millennials” certainly is an idea ripe for exploration but it can’t help but feel like something of an afterthought here.
The performances throughout are solid; Amanda Crew’s comedic talents prove to be one of the films highlights. She takes to her role incredibly well, combining moments of naivety with razor-sharp wit and charm. Robert Patrick is also on great form here, he is perfect casting for an angry baby boomer and is clearly having a ball as the psychotic killer – not since Terminator 2 has the man been so scary.
Supporting characters are enjoyable to watch, if for the most part superfluous to the story, Olive’s mother (Anna Lynne McCord) living on a hippy commune with a younger boyfriend (Johnny Pemberton) is undoubtedly entertaining but really could have been cut to tighten things up. When the film cuts away from the country house, it takes a little bit of atmosphere away with it.
All that being said, it’s some of the Killer Instinct's more bizarre moments that give it a real sense of character, Olive’s inability to play the piano is a recurring theme here and, although it’s a bizarre fit when thrown in with the darker elements, it actually works well to mix things up and certainly makes the film more memorable.
Whilst the film doesn’t quite gel as a whole, there are some stand out moments: the film is very atmospheric and, in parts, downright disturbing; there are some great visual flourishes, especially with some of the film's creepy dream sequences; and it's evident throughout that Bates Jr and cinematographer Ed Wu have a real eye for horror filmmaking.
Killer Instinct is certainly an enjoyable genre piece, even if what starts out as something more interesting eventually turns into a fairly generic OTT slasher, but any film trying to do something even remotely different should be applauded. It’s just a shame it doesn’t stick the landing.
