Review by LL Soares
I’ve read a few books by writer Bryan Smith, and I’ve enjoyed the hell out of them, so when I heard one of them, 68 KILL, was made into a movie, I was eager to check it out. I was happy to see that the movie keeps the unrelenting pace of the novel intact.
Chip (Matthew Gray Gubler, who also plays Dr. Spencer Reid on the show CRIMINAL MINDS), pretty much does anything his girlfriend Liza (AnnaLynne McCord, also on the show NIP/TUCK, 2007 -2009, and the reboots of 90210, 2008 – 2013 and DALLAS, 2014) tells him to. She’s incredibly hot, but also most probably insane, but he’s addicted to her and puts up with a lot to stay with her. Money’s tight for the couple, but Liza has a sideline being the lover to a rich guy. This side relationship has a motive, however, and when Liza figures out how to get into the rich guy’s safe, she and Chip go to the house for a big payday. But things go wrong. The rich guy and his wife end up dead. Liza and Chip get their money, but also end up having to figure out what to do with Violet (Alisha Boe), a young girl who was a lover of the rich guy (and his wife) who just happened to be at the house during the home invasion and is now a witness. So Liza throws her in the trunk of her car.
Since the robbery erupted in unexpected violence (thanks to the unstable Liza), Chip is constantly having second thoughts about what to do next. When Liza suggests selling Violet to her equally insane brother, Dwayne (Sam Eidson), Chip finally sees a line he’s unwilling to cross. He knocks Liza out and takes off with the car and the money, and Violet in the trunk.
Chip tries to reason with Violet and let her know he saved her, but then some new psychos show up to complicate things, when he wakes up to find himself framed for a murder, and when he tracks down his assailants, he ends up the victim of a prolonged torture session. Meanwhile, Liza is trying to track him down and get her money back, intent of administering some payback of her own.
Like the book it’s based on, 68 KILL is a fast-paced, violent roller coaster ride, and the cast helps it to all work extremely well. Gubler is believable as our hero, torn between being a wimp and a hero, and desperate to do the right thing in the face of complete lunacy. McCord is a terrific femme fatale, alternately sexy and scary. Other standouts include Boe as Violet, and Shiela Vand (“The Girl” from the movie A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, 2014) as another maniac named Monica.
Beyond that, I don’t want to give too much away. This movie has a lot of twists and turns, and some surprises, and it’s better to just sit back and experience it for yourself. I think this is a terrific little movie, and I hope it leads to more Bryan Smith adaptations. The dude has a very cinematic style that is very compatible with movies.
68 KILL is directed (and has a screenplay by) Trent Haaga, who previoiusly directed the movie CHOP (2011). He also wrote movies like CHEAP THRILLS (2013) and DEADGIRL (2008); and acted in movies like BAD MATCH (2017), BLOOD SHED (2014) and EASTER BUNNY, KILL! KILL! (2006). Haaga does a fine job bringing Smith’s novel to the screen.
I give 68 KILL a score of three and a half knives.
© Copyright 2018 by LL Soares
L.L. Soares 