As with the title here, some have called THE AGRESSION SCALE
a version of HOME ALONE with the results of the traps seen on screen. That's an
apt description. Does it make a good movie? When it comes to originality yes,
but in follow through it heads to the mediocre level.
Ray Wise plays a mobster just released from jail. Before he
heads out of the country and can stand trial he gives his top man Dana Ashbrook
an order: find the person who took $500,000 of his money and kill him and his
entire family and do it in 48 hours. With few leads to follow Ashbrook and his
team go down the list of names they've been given, each leading them closer to
the suspect. Not wanting to leave witnesses, they also kill each person they
come into contact with.
So where is this suspect? He's just remarried a woman who
brings along with her late teens daughter, a girl who wants nothing to do with
this family or with her new step brother. That stepbrother has a bit of a
problem and was recently released from a mental hospital. It seems that he has
a tendency towards extreme violence, something measured by what they call the
aggression scale. His scores far exceed anything seen before but medication
seems to be helping.
The bad guys follow their leads until they arrive at the
just purchased home of the newly married couple. A combination of torture (not
lengthy) and murder leave only the kids left to deal with. But as this team
begins to search the house for them, the young boy turns the tables on them,
leaving traps and wounding them as he helps his new sister escape.
The team tracks the kids down not just through the house but
in the surrounding woods as well. Along the way they have serious wounds
inflicted upon them by the resourceful kid, some going so far as to be killed
in self defense. He may just be a pre-teen but these goons have no idea who
they're up against.
The idea of having a troubled teen taking on tough guy
gangsters sounds like an interesting one. The traps he makes for them are well
thought out and vicious at times. When you add the touch of the aggression
scale psychological make up to the mix it makes it even more interesting.
What stops the movie from being great though is the acting.
It's not terrible but it's not quite that good either. Worst of all is the step
sister who's screaming while attempting to hide from the bad guys makes her one
of the stupidest victims of all time. Hint: when you're being chased, never
scream to give away your location.
One interesting note among the cast is the coupling of Wise
and Ashbrook. Both were part of the now famous series TWIN PEAKS. It's nice to
see them reunited here.
As I said, the movie isn't that bad and actually has some
decent moments in it. You can tell that this one is a low budget flick but in
the end it seems better than several big budget films I've seen in the past few
years. It may not be for everyone's taste, but if you're looking for something
a little different and don't have a problem with low budget style and acting,
then give this one a watch.
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