Assassination Nation

Sample manifestation of almost everything that pisses me off in today's world. The film tries to be some kind of brutal satire, but fails miserably in many respects, instead of scathing criticism, it rather defends what it seemingly tries to criticize - at least for everything related to the main heroines, it feels that way. Assassination Nation is as crazy and silly thing as the whole The Purge series - at some moments it even felt like I was watching a story from the same universe. The film promises an action-packed politically incorrect thriller with a twist - but it is politically and ideologically clearly anchored and definable. It is also worth mentioning that the same topic with almost the same plot was already processed by South Park in its 20th season and it must be noted that it did it much better and smarter - and without annoying insta idiots, stereotypical pig-like cops, awkward talks, and many other absurdities. Oh, and I would also like to warn you not to jump into the bait of brutal and violent ride - surprisingly, the film has a rather slow pace and the first hour is practically one long exposition scene for the events in the second half, which, however, does not offer any uncompromising satisfaction, but rather only confirms the inconsistency, shallowness, and scriptwriting helplessness of everything that happened in the film. Purge: Assassination Nation is pompous and silly postmodern crap for today's teenagers, who may see themselves in it as in a mirror and pat themselves on the back, how accurate it is, while at the same time confirming that it's okay. (10/11/2018)

A postmodern, feminist, politically incorrect, social-media and, most importantly, disturbing thriller that offers a little bit of everything and mixes multiple genres at once, including the excellent home invasion, revenge and grindhouse. Definitely not a film for everyone, but I enjoyed every second of it. The very idea of private details and photos being leaked onto the internet is disturbing in itself and when it happens to half the city suddenly there is uncompromising anarchy and chaos. The acting is first class, audiovisually the film is impressive and rightly far-fetched. There are executions, kidnappings, nudity, eroticism, suicide, humiliation and killing. I don't think I've ever seen a more intense teen massacre. Interesting line from the film: “When i grow up, I wanna be a director and only make male rape revenge films. Like Deliverance? Ew no. That's gross. I want it to be sexy. Like, if someone remade Straw Dogs, but instead of Susan George getting raped, Dustin Hoffman gets raped.” 80%. (12/09/2018)

I'm giving the film two stars for the momentary excitement that I felt thanks to a great portrayal of fake morality and exactly the kind of hypocrisy which makes America what it is. Apart from that, I didn’t find much else to appreciate. The script was painfully dumb for the most part, and even unpleasantly boring at times. (05/07/2019)

Don't expect an action thriller. This film is mainly a social satire about privacy on the Internet and the lives of teenage Americans on social networks. The film wants to be perceived as sharp and piercing, but instead it is as shallow as photos of Instagram models posing in front of a mirror. Through a story about five high school girls about the victims of Internet hackers hacking an online repository and leaking private user data to the public, the film holds up a mirror to America and the debauched, cheeky lifestyles of its troubled youth. However, instead of criticizing it, it actually supports and defends it. Although the film culminates in the last fifteen minutes with a modern witch hunt (that is why the story takes place in Salem, hint hint), during which there is finally some action, the audience has to wait a long time to get there. We have to suffer through an hour of dialogue, in which the eighteen-year-old protagonists are repeatedly presented as unsympathetic, conceited trollops with the fashionable taste of luxury prostitutes who are rude to everyone, but when someone dares to be rude to them, they cry and act as if they’ve been hurt. The tragedy lies in the film's futile attempt to persuade the viewer to cheer for the girls. Worth mentioning are the directing and camera, which in some places are quite imaginative, a couple of nicely shot scenes (the robbery of a family house in one shot) and aptly directed criticism of hypocrites who condemn other people without knowledge of context and arguments, and yet themselves have something to hide. The film amounts to postmodern, flat entertainment visually corresponding to the most recent Purge films, which will be appreciated especially by those who can identify with the protagonists. (10/11/2018)

This flick really can’t be taken seriously. It’s like Sam Levinson followed two directions. In the first half, it’s a mild socially critical drama gone wild, and in the second part, it turns into a shallow teenage grindhouse massacre, kicked off by a beautifully filmed scene of a house assault, but then drowns in illogical motivations of the characters and an incapacity to conclude the whole thing in a bold, uncompromising and most of all meaningful way. Instead, we are left with an ending that is safe, shallow and dumb. In this regard, the film structure slightly fails. Moreover, the piece is undermined by an uneven attempt at social satire on the one hand, while at the same time trying to appeal to the viewer with straightforward brutality. Still, thanks to some bravely spoken ideas in the first half that fit our current times, and given the fact I was well entertained even though it was late and I was tired from having watched other festival films, I will give this one a rating of over 50%. [Sitges 2018] (10/19/2018)