The Automatic Hate (2016)

Truly Dreadful Film

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Dark quirky and compelling film. Without giving too much away, a very dark and foul family secret is unearthed by a professor's twenty-something son after a brief encounter with a young woman who claims to be his cousin. Plot twists, surprises, dark humor and a great dinner scene make for a good film. Don't look into the abyss. You won't like what is looking back at you.

"Kissin' Cousins" this is not. "The Automatic Hate" takes the almost cutesy incestual premise of the 1960's Elvis musical vehicle and twists it into full force perversion. As off-kilter as it is to consider, what happens between these two long-lost relatives is, given the premise here, anyway, not as unsettling as you may well imagine.Still, this film ends with a lingering, and haunting, uncertainty. Is this taboo relationship merely an impassioned moment in time? Or is it destined to never entirely be left in the past?

If you can't handle messy, real, life, this movie probably isn't for you. This movie is two things-- it's a mystery and a drama. The mystery is about why two brothers/fathers become estranged, as explored through cousins who don't meet until they are adults. While the movie doesn't go into much detail about the estrangement, it is a very thoughtful exploration of the confusing phenomenon called Genetic Sexual Attraction (GSA), and it is a real thing, as anyone who has been adopted or has met family members they didn't grow up with can testify. That's the focus of the drama.What it is not, as some have implied, is a story about creepy incest. It's not lurid, and not pandering in the slightest. It's not about some "slutty" cousin and some dude who is willing to throw away his education, girlfriend or profession for some hot sex. If you go into the movie thinking or expecting that, you will be disappointed. I have no idea why another reviewer is ranting about this being a "gay" story about how being gay is hereditary. It has nothing at all to do with gay people. I think they didn't watch the movie carefully, because there was nobody gay in it at all. There are two events that happen -- the conflict of the brothers/fathers mystery estrangement, and then there's the conflict that happens when the cousins meet. There is nothing at all insinuating that anything is "hereditary". I thought the ending was perfect. The cousin doesn't want to lose his girlfriend, but at the same time, he knows that even though she has said they can't get back together if he doesn't tell the truth, he knows that she, like probably 95% of the people who watch the movie, will absolutely not understand, accept or forgive him... so he lies. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time. If you are curious about what is really going on in the story, Google Genetic Sexual Attraction.

I tend to watch a lot of indie movies, but I almost skipped this one. The title and overview were too vague, and I figured this would end up being a typical coming-of-age, dramatic-yet-heartwarming story of families reconnecting.Oh boy, was I waaaaay off.First of all, this movie is really very well filmed. The cinematography, art direction, and pacing are spot-on and very engaging, aside from also being polished even by Hollywood standards. And the acting, oh my. Everyone is excellent, and Adelaide Clemens is... frankly, intoxicating.The subject matter comes totally out of left field. At a time when even indie filmmakers seem to be churning out the same old genre-straddling garbage, this movie is a breath of fresh air -- despite the awkward subject matter, which is presented in such a way that it never feels deliberately provocative.I tend to skip sex scenes in movies (when that's possible). They're all melodramatically the same, and they're boring to sit through. I feel compelled to mention that the one in this movie kept my eyes glued to the screen.I would've liked to see more clues as to what kind of past made Alexis the way she is, but I guess you can't have everything. Overall, superb, the best movie that nobody has seen, and the kind that'll have me thinking about it for a while. It's a shame the subject matter probably prevented it from getting any semblance of distribution.