Today’s quick review: 68 Kill. Chip (Matthew Gray Gubler) gets in over his head when his girlfriend Liza (AnnaLynne McCord) decides to steal $68,000 from the man she’s been sleeping with. But what should have been a simple robbery turns into a double homicide, leaving Chip with a guilty conscience and a witness, Violet (Alish Boe), to get rid of. Now Chip must decide whether to obey Liza’s orders or try to make a break with Violet and the cash.
68 Kill is a violent crime drama and black comedy that follows a blue collar man as he gets dragged deeper into his girlfriend’s criminal schemes. The movie aims to be an unpredictable romp fueled by sex, violence, and sheer bad luck. 68 Kill does manage to deliver some shock value with its escalating series of ridiculous, disturbing situations. But the movie is never as stylish as it tries to be, making its explicit content its defining trait.
68 Kill does a decent job with its plot and characters, but they’re missing a sense of purpose. AnnaLynne McCord turns in a convincingly psychotic performance as Liza, an abusive girlfriend with a loose moral compass. Chip’s attempts to break free of her grasp make for a reasonably interesting story, even if its random twists hurt its sense of cohesion. The movie can also be darkly amusing at times, chiefly by putting Chip through the wringer.
But the subtler aspects of 68 Kill are all but drowned out by its graphic content. The movie alternates between titillation and gore in a way that’s more blunt than artful. The explicit content does serve a purpose in driving home the movie’s themes, but for the most part, it seems to be included for its own sake. Fans of the perverse may get something out of 68 Kill; ordinary viewers will find it off-putting at best and distasteful at worst.
For a similarly graphic revenge movie with more of an action bent, try Everly. For a more earnest story about an ordinary man thrust into a criminal situation, try Blue Ruin. For a darker, more thrilling battle over stolen money, try No Country For Old Men. For more artful violence, try Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction.
6.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 5.5 for decent execution of a base story.