PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Sometimes movies just slip through the cracks and I can’t see them as quickly as I would like to or I didn’t even know about them. This weekend as I was browsing my local video store (yes we still have a few where I’m from) and I came across a familiar name to me on a DVD cover – Richard Bates Jr. He just so happens to have directed one of my all-time favorite horror indie, Excision (2012). I quickly grabbed Trash Fire from the shelf and made my way to the checkout line, bolted to my car, drove home quickly, and started watching it right away. Did Bate’s shock me again with Trash Fire the way he did with Excision? Let’s review!
Written and Directed by Richard Bate’s Jr, Trash Fire premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. It currently has a 5.9 rating on IMDB.COM and a 67% on Rotten Tomatoes, pretty much calling it a mixed bag of emotions. I often don’t care for numbers or percentages when it comes to movies because I tend to disagree with the majority of the critics giving them. In this case, I feel those numbers should be a lot higher. Maybe it’s because Trash Fire is a horror comedy and some people just don’t understand good bloody humor.
Trash Fire follows Owen (Adrian Grenier of TV’S Entourage) and Isabel (Angela Trimbur of Final Girl’s 2015) as a couple who’s relationship seems to be on the rocks. Owen takes her for granted and doesn’t want to let her in about his past that he has been running from for years. Isabel soon discovers she is pregnant and reality hits Owen that it’s time to grow up and become a parent. Isabel is reluctant and only agrees to have the baby with him if he takes her back to his hometown to see his family that he has long left behind. He reluctantly agrees (finally) and off they go into a crazy world that neither of them should have entered into. When they return to his Grandma’s house to make amends with not only his Grandmother (Fionnula Flanagan), but his sister Pearl (AnnaLynne McCord, Excision) as well, all the secrets and lies come full circle.
I am kicking myself that I didn’t get to Trash Fire sooner, because the script, the acting, the score, the filming, EVERYTHING was amazing! I’m just glad that I happened to stumble across it. Can I just say that I absolutely love McCord? Actually, the whole ensemble deserves praise from their comedic timing to the “what the fuck” moments they delivered throughout the film. Plus, the second half delivers intensity unlike I’ve seen before, but I’d expect nothing less from Bates.
This film works so well because it is pretty much two movies in one, which I absolutely love! The beginning starts off with Grenier and Trimbur’s relationship and how damaged Owen really is. The dark undertone is set within the first lines of dialogue by Owen’s character stating that – “Ever since he was little he wished his parents were dead.” Behind the crude banter, you know that something unimaginable is yet to come. Owen also suffers from seizures and the first time this happened I was literally blown away by Grenier’s performance.
Trimbur’s portrayal of Isabel gives what I Feel to be a very raw and genuine performance… absolutely stunning! Isabel and Owen have an incredibly demented relationship, but it is also identifiable for not only me but other viewers as well.
Last, but not least there is an outstanding performance by Fionnula Flanagan (The Others) who plays the Grandma aka the stereotypical religious bitch that we all love to hate.
Final Thoughts:
Bates delivers yet again, a gut-punching ending that leaves you saying WOW long after the credits have rolled. Had I watched Trash Fire in 2016, it would have absolutely made it onto my favorites list. My only regret is wishing I had seen it sooner. This movie is far from trash and deserves praise among the horror community as it is most certainly one of the best horror films that came out of 2016. Don’t waste any time and watch it as soon you can!
