MakeOutwithViolence

Make-Out with Violence (2008)

I love running a website. In addition to getting some cool releases of old favorites I also have a chance to check out movies that I might never have taken a look at if I wasn’t reviewing. Make-Out with Violence is one of those movies that I probably would have passed on and regretted it later.

I’m going to do my best to explain the plot here, but it might seem a bit disjointed and strange. You have a pair of fraternal twins named Patrick and Carol. A friend of theirs and someone that Patrick had this unrequetted love for named Wendy disappears and is presumed dead. After the funeral without a body their younger brother Beetle finds Wendy, who is inexplicably a zombie (or some other undead – honestly I’m not sure). The rest of the summer is spent hiding zombie Wendy away from everyone as Patrick tries to have some sort of connection or relationship with her. There is also a subplot about a girl that Carol has feelings for, and who was Wendy’s best friend.

Normally when I sit down to write a review I’m able to put the movie into some category. Is it a comedy, drama, or horror film, that sort of thing. But I’m finding it rather difficult to put Make-Out with Violence in any one category. This movie is so different from anything that I’ve seen before and that is saying something because I watch a lot of movies from all genres. The plot is odd and somewhat surreal in how it portrays the characters and the situation. I mean the brothers find that their missing friend is a zombie and that doesn’t even seem to bother them. As if this is the sort of thing that happens every day they just bring her home. Of the 3 who know about her 2 of them just seem to get on with their summer and one brother, Carol, actually sets off to win over the girl he has a crush on.

Again I’m finding it difficult to write this review because of how different this one is. But what is important and what I want to make sure that I get across is that different, odd, and surreal can be good sometimes and here it is very good. The movie is 105 minutes long and I was engrossed the entire time. I cared about the characters and wanted to see how everything turned out for them. Without spoiling anything the ending wasn’t what I was expecting to happen or even all that satisfying. But it really works for the movie because it left me wondering what the hell I had just watched, which is how I felt watching the entire movie. And I mean this in a good way too.

I tend to compartmentalize things in my head. So not too long after I watch a movie it is filed away and I move on to the next thing. Hardly ever to I think about something I’ve watched when I’m at work or hanging out with my family. This is true about movies that I like or dislike. Here a couple of days after watching Make-Out with Violence I’m still thinking about it. And it isn’t just about this review either. 48 hours later the characters are still on my mind. It isn’t often that a movie or a filmmaker (or in this case filmmakers) gets into my head like this and I have to say I dig it.

So while I might not have done a very good job explaining the movie and I certainly haven’t mentioned the stellar job the cast does or how nicely the movie was shot (fixed that now didn’t I?). I hope that I have made you the readers of this review interested in checking out the movie. I highly recommend it.

For more information on where you can pick this movie up head on over to their website at http://www.makeoutwithviolence.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer