Review of Make-Out with Violence (2008) by Brian S — 26 Jun 2011

The synopsis of this quirky flick is right on. If I had to, I'd call it a coming-of-age film centering around twin brothers who are trying to figure out their direction. One of their friends, and the object of one's infatuation, disappears only to turn up tied between a couple f trees. She's a zombie. She's not particularly dangerous, but she's not particularly alive, either. The film plays out over the course of a summer as one twin tries to win over the dead girl's best friend and the other hides the zombie in the bathroom of an absent friend's house.

"Make-Out With Violence" takes a little while to get going, but it's effective and poignant once it does. While there are a couple of tense, mildly scary scenes, it's not about the gore and there's not much violence, either. The violence seems to be more about that done to oneself through dishonesty to oneself and others. The zombie is a device, something to do with lingering too long when it's time to move on.

Considering it's the directors' first outing, this is a particularly interesting and oddball flick. Think "Stand By Me" meets "Dead Girl." The pacing drags at points, but very worthwhile in the end.