directed by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett, starring Adria Arjona, Dan Stevens, Eric Wareheim, Reginald VelJohnson, Michael Biehn, Drew Starkey, Alex Pereira, Dave Campbell, Tyler Hall, Rebecca Hall
You had me at "set in the world of The Guest (2014)." Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett have been favorites of mine (and everyone who likes horror) since You're Next (2011), so to have them back again with supersoldiers attacking a desert trailer park feels great. Sort of a Tremors meets Shane Black with a dash of Evil Dead, our veteran sniper hero must defeat large odds while protecting a precocious young girl in this fun thriller full of chainsaws, cleavers, and odd ball characters. Check it out.
Characters
Celeste (Arjona) - Veteran sniper with PTSD and mother
Dr. Kammler (Stevens) - Nazi doctor
Kovacks (Wareheim) - Police officer living at the trailer park
Josiah (VelJohnson) - Veteran living at trailer park
Baylor (Biehn) - Government agent in charge of testing soldiers against supersoldiers
Cyrus (Starkey) - Government agent in charge of cleaning up supersoldier mayhem
Butcher (Pereira), Cockroach (Campbell), and Crybaby (Hall) - brainwashed supersoldiers
Frau Kammler (Hall) - wife of Nazi doctor and his dom and higher up in supersoldier program
Setting
Present day in the American southwest desert
Windy Oasis Trailer Park where most characters live and climax takes place
Bunker lab where supersoldiers are made by a Nazi doctor
Truck stop where nothing bad happens ever, especially with a cleaver
Nazi doctor's desert house
Sex club with sorta naked leather women and drugs
Plot Summary
Celeste spends her days shooting pumpkins and drinking while working as property manager at a trailer park. When her daughter and brainwashed supersoldiers show up unannounced, Celeste must overcome her war trauma to keep her daughter Daisy alive and learn how to use a chainsaw while running. And she does it with a badass eyepatch. On her side is a veteran to supporting heroes, Josiah, and a cowardly cop.
Favorite Scenes
Reveal of the soldiers with their shining eyes and brutal tactics against trained soldiers gives a nice preview to the horror they will enact on the domestic population.
Every Dan Stevens scene as the weird doctor, from licking his wife's shoe to his line "They see better in the dark."
Horror at the truckstop as the worst of American fears come to life in brutal fashion. The fact that most of the kills are not on screen, but we watch as one of the super soldiers looks on.
Cyrus. Just whatever that character was up had me enamoured.
As soon as the chainsaw came out, I had a big grin wondering how that was going to play out. It gets a lot of work.
The poor guy's dummy on the barbeque played the part of the popcorn in Scream beautifully.
Discussion Questions
Do you feel that the United States used Nazi scientists effectively? What other mass murdering psychopathic monsters should the USA recruit next? Put in charge?
What is it about the desert that feels so calming?
Celeste tells her daughter, "Never pick a fight with someone with more to lose than you." Should this be implemented in the next batch of supersoldier programming?
How would you properly bandage an eye with a gunshot wound?
Shooting pumpkins. New Halloween trend?
What's the worst government coverup you've had to attempt while on MDMA?
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