Kaboom [MA]

Smith is just your average college student whose days are spent hanging out with his arty, sarcastic best friend Stella, hooking up with a free spirit named London, and lusting after his gorgeous roommate Thor. But all this is dramatically turned upside after one terrifying night where, after tripping on some hallucinogenic cookies, Smith is convinced that he has witnessed the brutal murder of a redheaded girl who haunts his dreams. As he tries to find truth to this vision, he is led deeper and deeper into a sinister mystery that will forever change, not only his fate, but the world’s too. 

WHAT A TRIP! THIS MOVIE IS BRILLIANT! COMPLETELY FUCKED UP, AND BRILLIANT! With a darkness like Donnie Darko and a vibrancy like Velvet Goldmine, Kaboom is a real cult classic that will have you intrigued, repelled, and will set your mind ablaze with questions and thoughts. IT IS RAW AWESOMENESS! 

Smith is just your average college student whose days are spent hanging out with his arty, sarcastic best friend Stella, hooking up with a beautiful free spirit named London, and lusting after his gorgeous roommate Thor. But all this is dramatically turned upside down after one terrifying night where, tripping on some hallucinogenic cookies, Smith is convinced that he has witnessed the brutal murder of a redheaded girl who has been haunting his dreams. Determined to prove to himself and everyone that he is not losing his mind, Smith tries to find the truth to this vivid vision, but as he delves further into his investigation, he is led deeper and deeper into a sinister mystery that will not only forever change his fate, but the world’s too. 

I think the best and simplest way to describe this film is “an erotic explosion for both the physical and the mental”… and that wonderful phrase came from my brain. 

Kaboom puts forth a lot of modern themes of conflict both internal and external. We have sexual conflicts, bisexuality, homophobia, closet cases, the tolls taken on those from broken families, relationships, obsessive basket cases, nuclear war, the severity of underground cults, and a brutal and true look at the experiences gained through college life. The whole thing is white hot with sins of the mind and the flesh and harbours absolutely everything from sexual confusion to underground societies to supernatural powers. 

And what I particularly loved about it all was that it was wonderfully weird, but then at the same time everything was explained to you, so you actually never found yourself questioning what the hell was going on. 

The deliberate lack of closure was another stroke of brilliance because it left you on a complete physical and mental buzz from the climax and then slowly brought you down just that little bit so you could just stare fixedly amazed at the credits rolling on the screen and go “whoa, that was awesome!” 

With great performances from Thomas Dekker, Haley Bennett, Juno Temple, Chris Zylka, Roxanne Mesquida, James Duval, and Kelly Lynch, Kaboom was an extraordinary movie that was packed with sex, murder, conspiracy, drama, comedy, suspense, drugs, and the supernatural. It’s a freaking awesome movie that will really stay with you.