Review of Death Riders (2011) by Carl E — 06 Jun 2012

Brotherhood is the story of what happens when fraternity initiation goes bad. Adam Buckley (the talented Trevor Morgan) is on his last night of pledge fulfillments, along with two of his fellow pledges and two fraternity leaders, when the pledges are told they must rob three liquor stores of $19.10. Things begin to spiral down after pledgie Kevin (Pucci) is shot by the store clerk (Escarpeta). Rash decisions are made by leader Frank (an intense Jon Foster) as to make sure that no one finds out what has happened. But as the night goes on Adam must find a way to do what's right, even if it means breaking the trust of the fraternity.

First off, I have to say that I am bummed I didn't see this movie in the theaters. I had a chance to catch a viewing of it down Laemmle's Music Hall 3 and afterwards there was to be a Q&A with Will Canon, Trevor Morgan and a couple others, stupid me. Anyway, this movie really surprised me. When I first saw the trailer I thought it looked interesting, but didn't think too much of it. A movie about a fraternity initiation gone wrong, whatever. But I was wrong. This film is face paced, well acted and holds your attention throughout. The film is only 76min long, and it's smart for that because with its premise, it couldn't have gone on much longer. Canon uses a raw hand held camera style, not so much like a Greengrass style, but one that gives you the feeling that you might be in the room with these guys. And where some movies fail to gain more intensity after their initial shock point, this one manages to pile on more and more leading to an exciting, intense ending. I also can't say enough for the young actors here. They are talents to be reckoned with, and with this being a low budget movie, you know they're not there for the money. The actors work with a script that seems to allow them a lot of freedom in which manner to handle things. Morgan is the intelligent leader of the understudies, but is held down by Foster who thinks his ideas and plans are flawless. While Pucci lies on the couch/bed for most of the movie, he conveys his needs and pain in a manner where you think he might actually need the help he's asking for. While Escarpeta gives us the innocence needed for his character, while holding stubborn in a situation where he feels the fault is not against him. Yes, there are flaws in this film, but so what. They don't deteriorate the film in anyway. And yes, the characters might be a little dumb and frustrating at times, but without this, you wouldn't have a movie. All I can say is thank you Will Canon for this movie, it was a pleasure.