UK/Germany/New Zealand | 2019 | Directed by Jason Lei Howden
Logline: A gamer geek is forced to partake in a deadly competition whilst he attempts to rescue his kidnapped ex-girlfriend.
The much-anticipated follow-up to the hugely enjoyable splatstick horror Deathgasm is a satirical slap in the face to online gamers and Millennials in general. It’s essentially an action flick, with severed tongue lodged in cheek, chocka-full of expletives, assorted crude humour, and peppered with ultraviolence. It’s a deep, trashy rollercoaster ride, the kind you’d consume with multiple beers and pizza with the lot, if you were at home.
Miles (Daniel Radcliffe) is a loo-hoo-sir-her, stuck in a thankless job developing online games with a douchebag boss (Richard Zander) and a colleague (Deathgasm’s Miles Hawthorne in a bit-role) who isn’t much help. Miles is pining after his former girlfriend, the sunset-haired Nova (Natasha Lui Bordizzo), and one night after involving himself in a new and hugely popular online snuff game called Skizm - where armed contestants pursue and murder each other across the city - and taking it upon himself to troll all the armchair participants, he’s paid a rude and brutal visit from the underworld.
Miles awakes to find he has two handguns bolted to his hands, and he has just twelve hours to find and kill his opponent, Nix (Samara Weaving), the reigning champion of Skizm, otherwise the gangsters, lead by psycho mug Riktor (Ned Dennehy), will chop his abducted ex into little pieces. Game on, it seems, by default.
Howden’s flick balances precariously on the fence of tribute and vitriol. It’s hard to work out whether he’s taking the savage piss, or having an an inclusive laugh. The movie is undeniably entertaining, but also feels hollow and derivative. Much of the enjoyment comes from Radcliffe’s terrific performance, in fact I’d recommend the movie on him alone, I’d even go so far as saying this is the best thing I’ve seen him in. He is perfectly cast. He has a real flair for the comic stuff, especially this kind of physical comedy. He also reveals much more than anyone was expecting, but for the fans with crushes it’s a blink and you miss it moment, but I digress …
Samara Weaving chews the scenery with a variety of mug shots and one-liners. She’s immensely watchable, all punk spunk and feisty attitude, but I was reminded of her role in the movie Mayhem. She’s fast becoming the belle du jour, with a bunch of movies on the immediate horizon. I hope she makes some good decisions, and doesn’t get lost in the thick of it. Sh’s obviously having fun here, but I look forward to seeing her delivering serious acting chops in a contemporary adult drama/thriller.
The visual stylistics Howden employs is very much meant to mimic gaming techniques, but it becomes a bit much after awhile, less effective, more an annoying gimmick. But the impressive command of the mise-en-scene, coming off Deathgasm, reminds me of Sam Raimi and his career surge. I’m sure Howden is destined for a big budget extravaganza very soon (if he doesn’t sabotage his career through reckless social media behaviour first, but I digress again …). Some of the credit must go to his terrific cinematographer, Stefan Ciupek.
There’s nothing particularly fresh in Guns Akimbo (the title refers to the handle attributed to Miles by the online hordes), you’ve seen it all before - even the “handgun” is a reference to David Cronenberg’s Videodrome - but Howden delivers with both guns blazing, splashing flourishes and spilling panache with sheer abandon, and it’s pretty funny to boot. The kind of movie that demands to be seen on the big screen with a big audience and a big bag of popcorn. If it sounds like your bag, get involved.