Review of The Vicious Kind (2009) by Jiana W — 17 Aug 2011

I sort of felt bad for the little brother, Peter, amidst all this. His family is full of lies and deceit basically. But I guess this is what makes the film so interesting and why you continue to watch it all the way through.

Although pretty repugnant and irritating in the beginning, Caleb gradually becomes more sympathetic when he starts actually expressing emotions and vulnerability. Adam Scott, who I first saw in "Leap Year", is excellent as Caleb. I want to see more of him. Brittany Snow also gives a convincing turn as Emma, the innocent girl caught up in this bizarro, dysfunctional family. Alex Frost, who plays Peter, is really just there for decoration. He's sweet (when he's actually on-screen) but his only purpose is being the reason that Emma is there.

Not much happens in this film. It's more character-driven but luckily the characters are all exciting enough that you want to follow them to the end to see what they'll do or how events will unfold. We're kind of left hanging in the end but I guess we're supposed to imagine what happens once the credits start rolling. Interesting character study film.