Kaboom (2010) Director: Gregg Araki

Kaboom is a curious little film split right down the middle with one part an on-campus teen sex comedy, the other a horror/sci-fi stalk 'n' slash movie. It doesn't work very well but it's intriguing, and there's something there that holds your interest. It can't be lead character Smith (Thomas Dekker) as he's not likeable and you can barely hear him, yet there's a draw which will make this film something of a cult classic. It could well be the refreshingly free lovin' London (Juno Temple) who is a highlight, or Smith's best friend Stella (Haley Bennett) with her incredible cheekbones and sneering attitude.

The film is a MESS though - Smith goes to college and explores his sexuality, he's 'undeclared' and enjoys liaisons with both men and women. Stella is a lesbian and her college girlfriend is a witch. London is a British student who beds men within five minutes of meeting them. And then we come to the animal-masked stalkers. Smith witnesses them sticking a knife into a girl's head on campus and is then pursued relentlessly, and only he is seemingly able to see the would-be attackers. He's also having mad dreams involving dumpster trucks and beautiful women lined up in a white corridor. It turns out that Smith has some very incredible powers indeed.

There's something of the Bret Easton Ellis about it all - or at least wanting to be like Bret Easton Ellis - with the sinister undertones of the vacuous lives of these youngsters. Sadly, the production values and the messy screenplay just don't work. The arrival of the animal-masked men perks up interest from the boring 'shock' value of just showing some young actors naked, but the final pay-off is ridiculous and feels hurried and unsettled. I don't think it's made for me anyway. I'm sure the MTV/Skins kids love it.
2/5