User reviews

Last week a student asked me for an example of an oxymoron.... if only I knew about 'Straight Edge Kegger' Ok this little movie isn't w/o a few charms, a sometimes fun (if you're bored enough or have always secretly harbored thoughts of taking out a few self righteous no-fun allowed on our watch X-edge bozos) though mostly underwhelming horror'ish flick. Mostly just blood n guts and senseless killing w/o any real heart or thought put into it. In the end nothing anyone will remember 10 minutes after the credits roll.

FINAL Thoughts: 1. Could be fun to watch with friends as a foundation for a drinking game 2. Get over it, once you're legally old enough to drink its called 'sober' not 'straight edge'.

My cinematic standards are pretty low: I can forgive less than stellar acting; I take great joy in non-sensical plots; I even find there's a certain charm to low-budget effects and filming techniques. What I can't forgive though is being boring, and unfortunately Straight Edge Kegger commits this most unforgivable of sins.

The film is only 75 minutes, but the first 40 of those are spent on an overly drawn-out setup. The second half is where the action starts, but surprisingly even then it all still feels like a slog. I found myself constantly checking to see how much longer I had left to watch.

For a film about punk, the plot and action also feel maddeningly mainstream. It feels restrained, conservative even. I got the sense that the film thought it was being really balls-to-the-wall, but I felt it never truly committed. I wish they had just gone for it, even if ended up as a complete failure. Interesting failures are at least memorable. Right now though the film stands in this awkward middle ground: too low budget to be an effective normal horror film, while also far too normal to be an underground gem.

I hate dunking on a smaller production like this. Just getting a film to screen deserves commendation, all the more so if that film is reasonably competently made like this one is. However I just can't really recommend Straight Edge Kegger. It feels far too long even with it's short runtime, and ultimately does not capture any of the punk spirit.

Following a series of confrontations, a man grows disillusioned with his friends in the straight-edge punk scene and befriends a more liberal fan of the movement, but when his friends learn about this decides to attend a house party their throwing and kill off everyone there forcing him to fight them off to get away alive.

Overall, this one was enjoyable if still heavily flawed. Among its more negative features is the obvious disconnect possible here with the films' music and politics. Despite being painted as the hero, a holier-than-thou type hanging out with others even more extreme than he is doesn't make the lifestyle all that appealing especially seeing how the near-militant fanaticism is seen as a good thing. The association with awful, unappealing music at the shows throughout these scenes doesn't help matters at all either. On top of this, there's not much to like about the motivations and reasoning for carrying everything out. The extreme nature and barbaric treatment of other random kids in the scene serve as a fine extreme point but the militant fanaticism that would require a brutal, violent home invasion killing off anyone they come across at a strangers' party. There's little to recognize how that snap would occur and lead into such a violent confrontation, much less explain the motivation of the faceless goons following along. The other issue here is the rather bland and uninteresting first half that doesn't have a lot of excitement going for it. Adeptly working through his personal crisis with the music scene and wanting to abandon his friends still doesn't inspire a lot of interest in what's happening, and with the bland music happening leaves the first half so awfully paced that a severe case of boredom can easily emerge. Overall, these are what drag this one down overall. That said, there are some enjoyable elements here. Those are all relegated to the finale with the home invasion antics where this turns into a solid slasher. The ambush and surprise attacks they carry off are quite fun, especially with the highly enjoyable attacks outside the house where they pick off the escapees trying to get away. These are brutal, graphic and often outright fun with the shockinness of their action and the enjoyable moments where they fight back which makes for a grilling segment and the film's biggest attributes.

Rated Unrated/R: Graphic Violence, Extreme Graphic Language and mild drug use.

This film is terrible...don't let the filmmaker's friends and families reviews fool you...this is a terrible film. Don't waste your time like I did. Terrible writing, directing, acting and was overall awful. The effects were the only part that saved this in the least...but even that wasn't enough to keep me interested.

I'll give them a 1 because at least they tried.

Go watch Green Room, and then follow it up with the rest of Jeremy Saulnier's filmography if you want to see exactly what this movie was attempting.

Straight up sucked! Dumb premise. Relied heavily on appearance of bands. The music was great. It was really hard to sit 80 minutes till the end. After a good night of short horror films, this movie started. And alot of people got up and left.

Just sat through this and for the first half of the movie I contemplated walking out. The opening is just torture as you are forced to listen to incomprehensible music for about 4 songs. Then you suffer through what feels like an hour of "story" that should have been and easily could have been condensed way down. Heck they introduce a ton of characters that other than the main 4 I couldn't tell you who they were or anything about them. There is a person playing Edward 40 hands that they kept showing that I am not 100% sure the fate of because of the awkward cuts and pacing. The movie gets bearable once it turns into a murder fest. Though even that is weak as it goes from 0 to 100 on violence and doesn't show a lot of it or gets real close when it does. Then right at the end the tone shifts from omg there is violence and death everywhere to jokes and that was crazy but oh well. More of the second half none of the first next time.

Looking at the other reviews on here, I might be the only person in the world who thinks it, but I thought this movie was great. Maybe it's my own life in punk related music scenes that made this more appealing to me. However I've watched many a punk themed film, and for me this ranks as one of the best. Hipster attention to detail is paramount here, every vinyl, sticker, tattoo, t shirt etc seems perfectly chosen and artfully framed. The soundtrack must be mentioned, with digital noise and jazz mixing in with the expected punk and hardcore. The story it tells is a simple one, as in most slasher movies it's mostly scene setting for sickening violence. Add in some chummy moments and humour along the way and the whole thing just zips by. More punxsploitation like this please.

Exactly the type of premise my buddies and I would have come up at 3am, and a few cases in. Somewhat clever winks and nods to the real subculture that I got a chuckle out of. But after the initial 20 or so minutes, the nostalgia really started to wear off. After that you start to question almost all the stylistic choices and tone of the movie. I couldn't help but to just wonder, "Why"? Almost an impossible movie to settle into. They couldn't even get the continuity of the color of blood right. It was hard not to pick apart.

Shout out to the actor that played the laidback, but possibly alcoholic hardcore "kid" though. He was alright, and had a nice Bane tee.

Best Antifa recruitment video I've seen in a while.

Punxploitation is a niche sub-genre of cinema that isn't meant to be understood by those outside of the punk rock spectrum. These films are for punk rockers, rudeboys, hardcore kids, and skinheads. The fact that these films are intended for such a small group of dedicated fans makes sure they have secured a place in cult status. STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER is a top-notch punxploitation film whose strength is its authenticity.







There comes a point in every person's life where they decide that they need to take a stand. That's exactly where Brad (Cory Kays) is. He belongs to a straight-edge (no drinking, no drugs, no smoking) hardcore crew lead by James (Julio Alexander) that has grown more violent and militant in their ways.







Brad has decided to break ties with his gang and at the same time, "break edge." This infuriates James, him and his gang of thugs decide to eliminate all drinkers and drug users from the scene. James' hate culminates in a D.I.Y. punk house party turning into a bloodbath of death and carnage.







What sets STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER apart from the pack of other punxploitation movies is how real it is. There are real bands, real venues, and real punks. Unless you have been at a punk show and have been threatened by someone because of something you wore, or did, you can't truly grasp how scary the straight-edge goons in this movie are. They are truly terrifying.



I could relate to most of the characters in this film. They spoke to me, as to who I was at one point or another in my life. My favorite character is Sean (Sean Jones). Sean is all about just enjoying life, and music, and not giving a damn. It made me laugh seeing him wear a T-shirt of the straight-edge band Bane while drinking a beer.



Brad and Sean's relationship gives STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER a good sense of levity. Their bonding montage, presented with "The Cult Song" by Shannon and the Clams, was a nice break from the intense hardcore punk soundtrack, and it really made me smile. It was an unexpected treat.







Everything about STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER felt familiar in an intense way, and hit close to home for me. The film had some strong GREEN ROOM and ROMPER STOMPER vibes, but on a much more personal and Midwest vibe. Seeing the Midwest punk/ hardcore scene get cinematic exposure warmed my heart. I would also have to say that it felt like the most genuine depiction of the D.I.Y. punk/ hardcore scene ever seen in an exploitation film.



The real action kicks in at about the 45 minute point. When the straight-edge gang attacks the punk house party. This instilled a sense of anxiety in me. It was a great cross between a siege film, reminiscent of ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, and survivalist horror; similar to THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE. The masks worn by the killers in STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER also brought to mind the 1985 Ozploitation classic FORTRESS.



The old 1980s rules of horror films were if you drank alcohol, did drugs, or had sex, you got killed off. STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER took this trope and turned it on its head with a straight-edge justification. I thought that was genius!







STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER is an indie horror film that hits all the right notes with me. It makes great use of its limited resources, it has a dark sense of humor throughout the film, it has an incredible soundtrack and a brilliant Goblin-esque score, and it has a good amount of well-done blood and gore.



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

The contradiction inherent in the title of this film hints at the cleverness of writer/director Jason Zink. As someone who enjoys horror and is fascinated by "punk" culture, and as someone who strongly appreciates a story about identity crisis, I knew I was in for a treat within the first few minutes of this film. The opening scenes at the concert (and outside the venue) are some of the strongest in the film, though when things devolve into violent madness near the film's end, the tension is effective and stays strong throughout the movie's climax. I think Jason Zink is definitely a director to watch and I can't wait to see what he could accomplish with a larger budget.

Worst acting bad writing; great realistic gore, high tension, best soundtrack

Great soundtrack, creative kills, super funny. The slo-mo shots at the beginning where everyone was moshing looked like a renaissance painting. The movie made me want to chug a beer or kick someones ass who was chugging a beer!

In terms of DIY film making Jason Zink really makes a good movie. The blood (buckets), sweat and tears he put into this movie really shows through out the feature. He found an untapped source of in his cast, mostly local punks and friends that add a layer of authenticity to the character's interactions. He's able to add laughs amongst the chaos, Sean Jones really shines there. The music is fantastic and meets the feel of the punk scene the movie takes place in. There aren't many people making films like this anymore and the level of dedication and passion Jason Zink and his crew put into this movie really goes to show there are wonderful people out there who want to scare you, make you laugh, let you simmer and scare you again.

I was fortunate enough to catch this film at the Third Annual Sin City Horror Fest in Las Vegas. There's nothing I love better than a movie that truly takes me into cultures with their own languages and customs that I've never been aware of...especially when they're right here in our very own country. And STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER does that and then some.

As an MTV-head, I know my punk 'basics'. The Clash, Blondie, The B-52's, The Go-Gos, DEVO, most of the bands that started out punk and eventually went "new wave". I learned more later by seeking out the more hardcore but still well-known groups: The Sex Pistols, The Dead Kennedys, Human Sexual Response, L7, Black Flag, etc.

I'd heard quite a bit about the sub-genres and the sub-genres of those, but I knew nothing about the "straight edge" movement before this film. So I was surprised to learn a few things, especially in the form of a punk 'drama' that takes a turn into "survival thriller" mode.

Brad (CORY KAYS) is the co-founder of a "straight edge" group within the local punk scene. For the uneducated - of which I was one - "straight edgers" are about celebrating the music, without the anarchistic, nihilistic trappings: no booze, no drugs, no white supremacist skinheads, no period. It all seems to be on the up-and-up at first, but the co-founder/now-ringleader James (JULIO MONTENEGRO JR. in a riveting performance) has taken things to a 'zero-tolerance', almost fascist level, even beating up on the lead singer of a band while onstage, when they decline his request not to play a song called "Boozehound."

I recently saw a film whose tagline was "Be careful what you believe in." I think that sentiment would've been more fitting for STRAIGHT EDGE, considering the surprising turn the movie takes.

Increasingly disenchanted with James's growing militancy in actions and attitude, Brad falls in with unrepentant partyers Sean (SEAN JONES, who could be the older, boozier brother of Zach Galifianakis), and Sean's neighbor, "Maybe" (EVEY REIDY), who Brad falls hard for. Seeing his protégé "going over to the dark side" snaps something off in James, and this is where the film takes its most frightening turn, when the straight-edge leader demands proof of loyalty in ways that will turn deadly for a lot of people.

So maybe the line I mentioned needs just one small adjustment: "Be careful who you believe in." STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER turns quickly into a riff on YOU'RE NEXT and GREEN ROOM, but in a more terrifying way. Because the danger and violence comes not from people who you expect it from - home invaders or Nazi skinheads - but from the kind of guys you'd least expect it from, all in the name of 'keeping it clean.' The performances here are great, with Kays, Reidy, Jones and especially Montenegro being the standouts.

Writer/director Zink is surefooted in both his writing and direction, setting up a scenario that is scarily realistic, with a message that couldn't be more relevant than now. And the picture is completely infused with the kind of propulsive, explosive, indie "punxploitation" energy that hasn't been evident on movie screens since such legendary films as BREAKING GLASS, SID AND NANCY or ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL.

I predict that STRAIGHT EDGE KEGGER will be one of those films that soon develops a very strong and growing cult following, once it goes into wide release.