I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Nice colors and Owen Campbell is lovely, but it's clear that they got rid of whoever was smart enough to write the beginning of the movie, and the rest was written by a committee of hacks. You can just hear it: "we can't have a heretofore decent character turn into a psycho are start hacking people up halfway thru the picture!" "You wanna bet?" It really pisses you off - this is my time being so pissed I wrote a review. It feels like good people worked hard but the result is unwatchable.

First of all, I really liked this movie. The direction, acting, cinematography, soundtrack, 90s, everything really is spot on. I was about the same age in the early 90s as this movie portrays, so there's also a strong nostalgia factor. (The fact that Elizabeth Cappuccino looks just like Mia Sara adds to nostalgia factor for anyone who grew up in the 80s). What didn't necessarily work perfectly was the script as a whole. It starts out very strong as others have noted, but goes slightly downhill from there on. You never really loose interest, but the finale feels a bit far fetched. Then there are the "symbolic" parts like the deer in the class room in the beginning, which I couldn't quite place in the whole, but it may require another round. And this certainly is a movie that I could watch again, because the style department is so strong.I probably would have missed this entirely unless I had looked up "As You Are (2016)" on IMDB (which is playing now on mubi.com). IMDB recommended this movie and then noticed it was playing on Netflix. Glad I caught it.

Just finished this on netflix and omg. Let me just say that I had a "super dark time" just WATCHING this movie. If u don't know this already, I'm a huge film geek and dont find many movies that toy with me the way this one did. Even when I figured out where the plot was going, which is usually pretty quick for most movies. This was still able to leave me feeling rather disturbed when it all plays out. If it weren't for the horrible pacing in the 3rd act, it could have been fantastic. The director shouldve put more effort into balancing the themes; after managing to make the audience feel just as traumatized as the characters, it was a disservice to all that authentic grit to just leave me feeling confused as to WHY the director wanted to tell this story. Its like, "wait, its over? Ok...im disturbed. But what else am i supposed to feel?" I believe it tried to hard to be a minimalist art film and ended too hastily causing the narrative to feel thematically sloppy and unclear. Which is frustrating because I started this movie not expecting it to hold my attention and it actually kept me engaged and guessing all the way to the end, and even afterwards. I was waiting for the director to make it clear what he was trying convey with this story but he never figured out what angle he wanted to take so it felt like I was just forced to watch the innocence and sanity of these hs kids get ripped away by a series of depressingly senseless traumatic events over the course of 2 hrs. maybe he thought if he just kept it vague and dark it would make it sophisticated. Wrong. Vague =/= artistic. Couldve been great, took too many risks, ended up way too obscure and inaccessible. Will likely never get seen or talked about because anyone who watches the whole thing probably won't want to themselves or anyone else through that again knowing how it ends. All macabre, no closure. Making the violence feel antithetical and therefore unnecessary. 6/10.P.s. That review ended up being way longer than I intended because I couldn't easily put my finger on where it went wrong.

In Super Dark Times (2017), a teen must come to grips with his increasingly psychotic friend in this harrowing and tense coming-of-age thriller. Written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, and directed by Kevin Phillips, this indie film's competency highlights why Hollywood is failing. Younger, more creative filmmakers are using technology and innovation to craft solid, beautifully-rendered films that put big-budget studios to shame.Director Kevin Phillips is mostly known for his short film cinematography, and he's spent the past twelve years honing his craft. Nearly every scene in this film is beautiful, but it's not another example of "style over substance." The movie is structurally sound, competently written, and the dialogue is believable. It reminds me of films from the '80s and early '90s, which tried to ground fantastic or extreme situations in reality.As Super Dark Times opens, a buck has accidentally crashed into a high school and severely injured itself. Two police officers clear the scene and put it down. This dramatic and brutal scene sets the tone for the rest of the film. Enter four acquaintances, childhood friends Zach (Owen Campbell) and Josh (Charlie Tahan), Daryl (Max Talisman), and an 8th-grader named Charlie (Sawyer Barth). Zach and Josh both have a crush on classmate Allison (Elizabeth Cappuccino), but she eventually chooses Zach.The kids discover a bag of marijuana and a samurai sword in Josh's brother's bedroom and take it to a park to mess around. Josh and Daryl get into an argument and Josh accidentally stabs him in the neck, killing him. The teens hide Daryl's body in the woods and try to forget about the crime, but Josh's increasingly erratic behavior stokes Zach's guilt and paranoia. The film's sickening climax is disturbing and difficult to watch, but the entire film has you on edge from start to finish.Super Dark Times is in many ways a typical coming-of-age film, but unlike Superbad (2007), which shares a deceptively similar name, it is far from the raunchy comedy we've come to expect. Like Stand by Me (1986), it subverts the genre and takes it to a much darker place.The movie was filmed in Kingston, New York along the Hudson River in autumn. The picturesque and quiet setting perfectly contrasts with the brutal violence. My favorite scenes, however, were very wide shots of the teens riding their bikes down a deserted street. The audio is crystal clear, but they seem swallowed up by the background. Their smallness re-emphasizes their age and place in the world.If I had one criticism, it would be that the female characters are underdeveloped and serve mostly as pretty window dressing to move the plot along. They have no agency or motives of their own. Prior to this film, Elizabeth Cappuccino had appeared in two TV shows and short films, including Jessica Jones. I would have liked to see her play a more challenging role.Super Dark Times stars several talented young actors. This is Max Talisman's first full-length film and he performs admirably as what would normally be the chubby comic relief. Charlie Tahan and Owen Campbell have much more experience under their belts, but all come across authentically.Super Dark Times is not a perfect movie, but it's not trying to be. Its simple authenticity comes across more like a documentary than a feature film, and its style takes you back to the early '90s without overtly playing on nostalgia. Besides Detroit, it was one of the few truly captivating films of 2017.