Review of Super Dark Times (2017) by Anthony B — 05 Jan 2018

Super Dark Times is very dark and occasionally super. Psychologically it's edgier than its spiritual cinematic counterpart/predecessor Mean Creek (which I loved) and definitely explores more difficult themes about coming-of-age, but as a movie it isn't nearly as satisfying.

There is plenty to appreciate here like the acting, which is emotionally charged, complex, and just straight up fantastic given the age of the cast, but somewhere along the way I started to feel dirty.

The material is gratuitous, disgusting, disturbing, and even questionable at time but it is also tender, intelligent, and intellectually stimulating. It poses a lot of valid points and questions about America's youth culture, parental responsibility, friendship, human nature, and rights of passage.

Super Dark Times is savage but smart, never pulls punches or goes for cheap shots, but I still found myself conflicted at several different points while watching the film because it felt as though the filmmakers and even the characters were asking me "why are you watching this?" If I had seen this in a psychology class in college I'd give it an A, but since I watches it on Netflix with a lazy "just entertain me" mindset, I'm giving it a B that brinks on B-.