There are endless independent horror-thrillers out there. Most of them I don't bother with. There are too many of them, and from what I can discern, a lot of them are undistinguished little trifles.
Dismissed caught my eye for two reasons. One, the star is Joe Swanberg regular (Uncle) Kent Osbourne, who graced such productions as Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends, Digging For Fire, Alexander the Last, Art History, Uncle Kent, and Uncle Kent 2. The Uncle Kent sequel has to be seen to be believed.
Osbourne is a good performer, and it's a shame he hasn't gotten more substantial roles. He doesn't, for one thing, have the looks of Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. Kent is a bit stout. It doesn't help that he often, including in Dismissed, shows off his man-juggs. Sometimes he shows a lot more than that.
It's also great to see Alycia Delmor, who also appeared in some of my favorite independent movies of the twenty-teens.
Dismissed earns no points for originality. It's about a frighteningly smart student who will stop at nothing to get A's and make his way to Harvard.
At first the teacher, Kent, is overjoyed, but there's something unnerving about this ambitious student. He does a paper that is meticulously written and organized, but Kent sees some fault in the boy's logic. He awards the paper a B-. Bad move.
Now it's a chess game of wills and wits, as the student makes Kent's life a living Hell. As I said, it's familiar stuff, but the movie is well made, the acting is above par, and there's a great deal of genuine suspense. This is the kind of movie that gnaws a hole in your gut as you watch.
In this case I wanted Kent to emerge victorious. In fact, I hoped he'd choke the life out of the little shit. Dismissed plays for keeps and while there isn't a complete downer ending, it's very dark.
I said I noticed two things about Dismissed. One was Kent Osbourne. The other is the movie's screenwriter. It's rising horror fiction star Brian McAuley.
A lot of movie-themed horror novels have been vomited up out of the horror fiction field in the past few years. I've actively disliked most of them. McAuley's Curse of the Reaper is one I liked very much. In fact, it was one of my favorite books of 2022.
McAuley's screenplay is more literate than the vast majority of low budget movies. The guy is the real thing. I keep meaning to read his latest novel, Breath In, Bleed Out, but thanks to the fall of book distributors Baker and Taylor, my local library hasn't gotten a copy yet. I'm on the waiting list.
Written by Mark Sieber
Dismissed caught my eye for two reasons. One, the star is Joe Swanberg regular (Uncle) Kent Osbourne, who graced such productions as Hannah Takes the Stairs, Nights and Weekends, Digging For Fire, Alexander the Last, Art History, Uncle Kent, and Uncle Kent 2. The Uncle Kent sequel has to be seen to be believed.
Osbourne is a good performer, and it's a shame he hasn't gotten more substantial roles. He doesn't, for one thing, have the looks of Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. Kent is a bit stout. It doesn't help that he often, including in Dismissed, shows off his man-juggs. Sometimes he shows a lot more than that.
It's also great to see Alycia Delmor, who also appeared in some of my favorite independent movies of the twenty-teens.
Dismissed earns no points for originality. It's about a frighteningly smart student who will stop at nothing to get A's and make his way to Harvard.
At first the teacher, Kent, is overjoyed, but there's something unnerving about this ambitious student. He does a paper that is meticulously written and organized, but Kent sees some fault in the boy's logic. He awards the paper a B-. Bad move.
Now it's a chess game of wills and wits, as the student makes Kent's life a living Hell. As I said, it's familiar stuff, but the movie is well made, the acting is above par, and there's a great deal of genuine suspense. This is the kind of movie that gnaws a hole in your gut as you watch.
In this case I wanted Kent to emerge victorious. In fact, I hoped he'd choke the life out of the little shit. Dismissed plays for keeps and while there isn't a complete downer ending, it's very dark.
I said I noticed two things about Dismissed. One was Kent Osbourne. The other is the movie's screenwriter. It's rising horror fiction star Brian McAuley.
A lot of movie-themed horror novels have been vomited up out of the horror fiction field in the past few years. I've actively disliked most of them. McAuley's Curse of the Reaper is one I liked very much. In fact, it was one of my favorite books of 2022.
McAuley's screenplay is more literate than the vast majority of low budget movies. The guy is the real thing. I keep meaning to read his latest novel, Breath In, Bleed Out, but thanks to the fall of book distributors Baker and Taylor, my local library hasn't gotten a copy yet. I'm on the waiting list.
Written by Mark Sieber
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