PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Ever since Kindergarten, I was always the weird one and the best target that didn’t fight back. Even switching schools never worked; I was thrown out of all of them. I’m pretty proud of that as an adult. Although that was over 30 years ago, it’s still my lifestyle, only with Dr. Scholl’s instead of Mohawks. I got away from that stuff a long time ago; it changed my life forever. Mike Heff’s Punk Kids is an ode to everything I was and who I am today. Let’s get into it!
Synopsis
While struggling to get his band their first show, the teenagers Emo (Wynton Odd) Nancy ( Stephanie Heiner), and Sid ( Kai Naw) learn the true meaning of punk rock is staying true to yourself. With Elmo’s supportive father just trying to connect with his son, the band goes through the motions of punk rock, and being different even when you want to be a headlining band.
Punk Kids is an amazing story because I read the same one. The idea of Elmo and his father trying to mend a relationship they both abandoned for years. I got into this stuff because I was really angry, and I wanted to be as different from those people as I could. The story caught me off guard, expecting a comedy, when really, it’s one of the best “drama” films, but a fun one. I prefer to call it a coming-of-age story.
It instantly took me back into those days, even in the opening credits. The film pulls you right in, even my wife, who has to put up with my playlists in the car. My music bends her ears just a bit. We come from completely different backgrounds, but that’s how we make it work. She knows I live for this music still to this day. The soundtrack blew me away, with bratty punk rockers all through the film. I also spent most of my life in Southern California; this stuff is everywhere. Punk Kids caught the energy, the style, the look; they understood the homework and aced it. I have never been so impressed by a movie about my life and what it meant. The film also gave me happiness in my soul, I contacted every one of my friends from out west.
We had a group chat session and talked all night, just because of how hard this film hit us when it premiered. I have never been prouder of my roots, which gave me a better son as my mom drove us everywhere. My friends came in for a safe place for a few days. They were also taken in for a few days. If it was really bad, my mom called child services for them, not to be mean, but so the kids knew they had a warm home whenever they needed one.
Punk Kids also filled my head with awesome memories; however, they made me really homesick. I am lucky to have a lot of friends out there, doing the same stuff we did in the 90’s, back when you either slept in a dumpster or rode your skateboard around town. There was that happy medium for quite a few of us. Now I have become a lot more tribal in my music tastes. Having kids, you can’t exactly listen to these bands. Some get lucky, and my kids are starting to get the gist. They want to learn more, and that’s how this scene starts. We aren’t criminals, just really good friends. Why take that away from people?
You can find Punk Kids on Tubi.
