Gutterballs (2008)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Fantastic!

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

This is no ordinary horror movie when it's directed by the Master Of Extreme, Ryan Nicholson. It's packed with high levels of everything an extreme hardcore horror fan will truly love. It's also a homage to 70s and 80s horror, with the vibe of the movie and the soundtrack. It's "I Spit On Your Grave" meets "Halloween", with a mixture of Giallo subgenre in an extreme way. Dan Ellis is a brilliant actor and he is even more talented than most overrated Hollywood actors. If you're an extreme horror fan and you have never seen any of Ryan Nicholson's movies, please checkout his filmography on IMDb. Be sure to get this modern masterpiece. I promise you if you're a true hardcore horror fan, you will not be disappointed...

Two rival bowling teams made up of obnoxious and libidinous teenagers spend the night playing a high stakes game in a bowling alley. Things go terribly awry when a masked maniac starts bumping off folks left and write. Writer/director Ryan Nicholson attacks the foul and nihilistic material with an all-out no-holds-barred in-your-face graphic and unapologetic "give 'em what they want" excessive aesthetic that pulls no punches and takes zero prisoners: The teeming overload of paint-peeling profanity (the almighty f-bomb gets dropped with jaw-dropping frequency), ferocious gore, abundant nudity (male and female alike!), breathtakingly vicious kills, hot raunchy sex, and, most notoriously of all, an excruciatingly protracted and sadistic rape set piece all ensure that this one sure ain't for the faint of heart or easily offended. Moreover, Nicholson warrants additional props not only for his inspired use of the novel setting, but also for injecting a wickedly funny sense of pitch-black gallows humor as well as sticking with old school style practical make-up f/x. In fact, Nicholson's blunt'n'crude sensibility provides one hell of a extra potent kick-your-teeth-out wallop to the gut. Granted, the game cast display more enthusiasm than ability, but there are nonetheless still effective contributions by Alastair Gamble as the ultra-slimy and hateful Steve, Mihola Terzic as brash fox Sarah, Candice Lewald as the bitter Lisa, Trevor Gemma as the wimpy Patrick, Nathan Dashwood as despicable weasel A.J., Jimmy Blais as sassy transvestite Sam, and, especially, Dan Ellis as a crusty graveyard shift janitor. Mark Christopher Atkins' grungy cinematography gives this picture a spot-on dingy'n'dirty look. The funky-throbbing score by Patrick Coble and Gianni Rossi hits the get-down groovy spot. A super rough shocker that certainly delivers what it promises and then some.

Gutterballs is ABSOLUTELY NOT a movie for everyone. Heck, it's not a movie for most people. But in spite of its many flaws, I had a surprisingly good time with this sleazy little Canadian slasher throwback.Speaking of flaws, you can't help but notice that the acting is uniformly terrible. Some of the actors are merely wooden, while others chew scenery like demented termites on a meth bender. One of the "bad guys" seems to have based his performance on a ferret, while the main "really bad guy" - also known as Steve - says f**k every fifth word and overreacts to everything that happens to him. There are also many instances of homophobia and misogyny throughout the movie and I'd like to say that the filmmakers were trying to parody people who actually think that way but the cast wasn't really talented enough to pull it off. Still...giving that the benefit of the doubt.Rape is also a constant motif (and motive) throughout the runtime. Obviously, Gutterballs is patterning itself after rape/revenge classics like I Spit on Your Grave and Last House on the Left, but the rape of Lisa that sets all of the events in play is extremely brutal, especially in a brightly lit digital print. Considering how there's a bit of a freewheeling, tongue in cheek vibe during most of this film, the initial rape sequence is even more jarring. The use of rape (or the threat of rape) during the "revenge" part of the action in an almost humorous way makes the going even stranger as the movie hurtles on.So, what's a nice girl like me doing rating a movie like Gutterballs a 7 on the IMDb scale? Well..I had fun with it, that's why. Gutterballs is so over the top that I could have chosen to be outraged or I could have just gone along for the ride. I took the ride, and I really wanted those jerks to get what was coming to them for what they did to Lisa. I also enjoyed the way that things went awry (understatement) because if one was to execute a real-life revenge plan, it would probably have its share of hiccups and that's what happens here. And finally, I loved the gore! I'm a gorehound from way back and although there's not much acting talent on display, the effects are top notch. I was even treated to a kill or two that I had never seen before, so bonus points for that, Mr. Nicholson and crew.Would I *recommend* Gutterballs to anyone? Of course not! People already think I'm weird enough. I'm just saying that, for the right kind of person in the right kind of mood, Gutterballs is one hell of a fun little journey with plenty of nods to slasher and exploitation classics to enjoy along the way.

One thing can definitely be said of "Gutterballs", and that's that writer / director Ryan Nicholson is true to his "balls-out, more-is-more" vision. Those genre fans who prefer subtlety won't find it anywhere here. Basically, "Gutterballs" is 96 minutes worth of excess, leaving nothing to our imagination; it's sure to satisfy if you don't want a meaty story or clever dialogue or very well drawn characters, but just a whole lot of depravity and brutality. On this level, it succeeds quite well. This viewer rated it fairly highly because it did amuse him often, and "amusing" really would be the right word to describe this blood drenched flick as it's far more sadistic than scary. It concerns two rival bowling teams made up of obnoxious young folk, who really aren't worth caring about in the slightest but at least that makes it easier to root for their demise. One female team member, Lisa (Candice Lewald), is raped by the grunting macho pig players on the other team; when next the teams meet *everybody* is fair game for a maniacal individual wearing a bowling bag over their head to disguise their identity. Now, some of the actors are entertaining, in particular Alastair Gamble as major jerk Steve, and Dan Ellis as the "old guy" janitor. What sells "Gutterballs" to those who care are its over-the-top set pieces where the audience won't believe what they're seeing, especially the impromptu operation occurring about the half way point, and the penetration by bowling ball sequences. The bowling alley makes for a unique enough setting, and overall the movie earns points more for its Grand Guignol style showmanship than anything else. It requires a strong stomach on the part of the viewer, but if they're partial to gore and can tolerate the other elements of the movie, they may find this a fair deal of fun. Seven bowling pins out of 10.