‘Slasherman is my life…’
Canadian actor/director Jay Baruchel is best known for portraying sweet lovable characters across a variety of films and genres. Whether it be as Hiccup in the How to Train Your Dragon franchise or as unassuming Dave in the Nicolas Cage vehicle The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Baruchel is who you go to for good natured hijinks. His first foray behind the camera wrought Goon and its less successful sequel Goon: Last of the Enforcers – both films that perpetuated the idea of Baruchel as a purveyor of wholesome good vibes. His follow up to the Goon franchise is not sweet or wholesome. Instead, it’s an 80-minute assault on the senses that revels and basks in a series of violent murders…
Todd (Jesse Williams) is successful comic book writer who has made his money from creating a character imaginatively named Slasher Man. Under pressure from his manager Ezra (Baruchel) to finish the final book in the series, and under fire from victims of the real life serial killer that inspired Slasher Man in the first place, Todd heads back to the scene of the crimes for inspiration with his trusty assistant and budding comic book artist Aurora (Niamh Wilson) faithfully tagging along. Meanwhile, Todd’s girlfriend Kathy (Jordana Brewster) is attempting to write a more serious book about the killer behind Slasher Man.
Random Acts of Violence can be viewed two ways. As a straight up horror flick it is a well-acted, cleverly written love letter to old fashioned slasher movies. As a social commentary on how culpable the audience is for the veneration of violence within the media landscape, it’s a little… clumsy. That being said, Baruchel’s first venture into horror never feels preachy, and he comes at the subject with an arched eyebrow and a glint in his eye. Not least in his ornate portrayal of the murders themselves, each one more gruesomely realised than the last.
This is neither a film for the faint hearted, or for those looking for something a little more sophisticated in the style of Get Out or Hereditary. It is however a film that adds another feather to the cap of an actor/director who always seems to pick interesting roles and projects in which to involve himself. Here’s to a sequel!