Film Reviews

Kaboom

• Rating:
• Director: Gregg Araki
• Starring: Haley Bennett
• Details: US / 86mins (18).

Is 'student film' a genre? Is it ripe for a parody of those energetic but ultimately amateurishly directed first outings, complete with a silly story, too-cool-for-school dialogue and lacklustre acting? If the answer is 'Yes, that sounds like fun' then there is a lot to enjoy here. If the answer is 'No, I wouldn't have thought so / I haven't seen enough student films to have an opinion / I don't care' then Kaboom is what it is: a waste of time for all concerned - filmmakers and audience alike.
Kaboom takes place in a college where there's a nude beach just off campus, everyone is good-looking and has catwalk names. Smith (Dekker) is an eighteen-year-old bisexual who has the hots for his surfer dude roommate Thor (Zylka). Smith has a recurring nightmare: he's walking naked down a hallway lined by his mother (Kelly Lynch), best friend Stella (Bennett), and Stella's lesbian college fling Lorelei (Roxanne Mesquida). At the end of the hall is a door numbered nineteen and inside is a red dumpster. Before he can figure it out, a distressed student, chased by animal mask-wearing assailants, confronts Smith begging him for help. Is there some kind of secret society on campus and does his dream have anything to do with it?
Chances of caring are close to nil. Kaboom kicks off in sound form as Araki, best known for directing the likes of Totally F***ked Up, The Doom Generation and Mysterious Skin, introduces the shy and horny Smith, his quirky world, and oddball friends. Once it settles into a supernatural mystery thriller, however, the wheels come off. The story gets too silly for its own good and Araki spends too much time messing about with scenes that have no business being in the movie, like Lorelei turning out to be a witch and stalking Stella. Whenever his story backs him into a corner, and it does frequently, Araki weasels his way out with laborious exposition or has Smith, and his gang of friends - London (Temple), Rex (Andy Fischer-Price), Hunter (Jason Olive) fall into bed for a quick tryst. It's poor story telling.
Bar Smith and Thor (who comes and goes) there aren't any likeable characters. Stella and London strive for a casual aloofness but come across as merely bitchy teens with an attitude that irritates before they reach the end of their first line. Character development is non-existent - one scene might have a massive plot revelation and twist, but the next scene sees it having no impact on the characters. The direction, mimicking low-budget, poorly lit movies, is shoddy too.
Kaboom has the feel of being dashed off, a first draft without any substance. If Araki was going for a parody - and the jury is still out on that - he still didn't get the tone right. The whole affair is pointless.

Review by Gavin Burke