Chaos (2005 horror film): Difference between revisions
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==Synopsis== |
==Synopsis== |
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''Chaos'' is |
''Chaos'' is the story of two teenage girls who, while on vacation at one of their parents' mountain homes, go to a [[rave]] party in the woods in order to score some [[MDMA|ecstasy]], and are then brutally raped and murdered by Eddie "Chaos" Cooper - the film's titular character - and his two accomplices, Frankie and Daisy. |
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This |
This feature film retains many strong overlapping themes and storylines with [[Wes Craven]]'s directorial true crime debut feature film, ''[[The Last House on the Left]],'' itself a remake of [[Ingmar Bergman]]'s Academy Award-winning ''[[The Virgin Spring]].'' However, the director of "Chaos" has played down any connection to these two movies, and neither Craven nor Bergman were provided a story credit. Some controversy stems from the film's postcard tagline and eventual theatrical release poster, "...it's only a movie...," which is borrowed from the infamous tagline of ''The Last House on the Left.'' The original 2005 theatrical release poster, however, provides its own new tagline, "The Most Brutal Movie Ever Released," which was followed by the similar 2006 DVD release tagline, "The Most Brutal Movie Ever Made." |
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The |
The substantial difference between ''Chaos'' and the previous two films named above is the ending, whereby Eddie ''Chaos'' Cooper eschews the questions its predecessors raised on [[vigilantism]] and [[revenge]], and instead seems to express simply that "evil exists." "Chaos" does, however, raise class issues with the two young women who his gang holds captive, as he a blurts out questions which can't be answered under torture and duress, such as "I know your type. You're just one of these bitches thinks she's too good for anybody, ain't ya'? I think you need to be taught a lil' bit of discipline." There is an obvious disparity in economic and class levels between the ragged and wayward outcast "Chaos" gang and the obviously middle-class and well-polished visitor girls. |
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''Chaos'' opens with a title card calling |
''Chaos'' opens with a rolling "warning" title card, calling the film a [[cautionary tale]]. When asked to justify the movie, director DeFalco says that he is essentially trying to save lives and scare souls, that the later informs the prior. |
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==Critical response== |
==Critical response== |
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Revision as of 03:44, 12 August 2008
| Chaos | |
|---|---|
| File:ChaosPoster.jpg Theatrical release poster. | |
| Directed by | David DeFalco |
| Written by | David DeFalco |
| Produced by | Steven Jay Bernheim |
| Starring | Kevin Gage, Stephen Wozniak |
| Distributed by | Dominion Entertainment |
Release date | 10 August 2005 |
Running time | 74 minutes |
| Language | English |
Chaos is a 2005 movie about the rape and murder of two teenagers. It stars Kevin Gage and was directed by David DeFalco. It is rated R "for violence and language". [citation needed]
Synopsis
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2008) |
Chaos is the story of two teenage girls who, while on vacation at one of their parents' mountain homes, go to a rave party in the woods in order to score some ecstasy, and are then brutally raped and murdered by Eddie "Chaos" Cooper - the film's titular character - and his two accomplices, Frankie and Daisy.
This feature film retains many strong overlapping themes and storylines with Wes Craven's directorial true crime debut feature film, The Last House on the Left, itself a remake of Ingmar Bergman's Academy Award-winning The Virgin Spring. However, the director of "Chaos" has played down any connection to these two movies, and neither Craven nor Bergman were provided a story credit. Some controversy stems from the film's postcard tagline and eventual theatrical release poster, "...it's only a movie...," which is borrowed from the infamous tagline of The Last House on the Left. The original 2005 theatrical release poster, however, provides its own new tagline, "The Most Brutal Movie Ever Released," which was followed by the similar 2006 DVD release tagline, "The Most Brutal Movie Ever Made."
The substantial difference between Chaos and the previous two films named above is the ending, whereby Eddie Chaos Cooper eschews the questions its predecessors raised on vigilantism and revenge, and instead seems to express simply that "evil exists." "Chaos" does, however, raise class issues with the two young women who his gang holds captive, as he a blurts out questions which can't be answered under torture and duress, such as "I know your type. You're just one of these bitches thinks she's too good for anybody, ain't ya'? I think you need to be taught a lil' bit of discipline." There is an obvious disparity in economic and class levels between the ragged and wayward outcast "Chaos" gang and the obviously middle-class and well-polished visitor girls.
Chaos opens with a rolling "warning" title card, calling the film a cautionary tale. When asked to justify the movie, director DeFalco says that he is essentially trying to save lives and scare souls, that the later informs the prior.
Critical response
Chaos earned Rotten Tomatoes's rating of 7%,[1] and its Metacritic rating is 3 out of 100,[2], and, according to them, it's the third worst reviewed movie of all time[1]. Conversely, a positive review came from Ken Fox of TV Guide's Movie Guide, who said, "Unlike so many other Last House on the Left rip-offs, this virtual remake is reasonably well shot and convincingly acted."[3]
Roger Ebert
Despite general controversy, Chaos received most of its publicity from Roger Ebert's zero star review and the filmmaker's response. Ebert wrote in his initial review:
- "Chaos is ugly, nihilistic, and cruel -- a film I regret having seen. I urge you to avoid it. Don't make the mistake of thinking it's "only" a horror film, or a slasher film. It is an exercise in heartless cruelty and it ends with careless brutality."[4]
DeFalco responded with a full page letter in the Chicago Sun-Times to rationalize the very existence of his movie, saying in part,
- "Mr. Ebert, how do you want 21st century evil to be portrayed in film and in the media? Tame and sanitized? Titillating and exploitive? Or do you want evil portrayed as it really is? "Ugly, nihilistic and cruel," as you say our film does it?"[5]
Ebert replied to DeFalco in the article "Evil in film: To what end?" Ebert wrote:
- "In a time of dismay and dread, is it admirable for filmmakers to depict pure evil? Have 9/11, suicide bombers, serial killers and kidnappings created a world in which the response of the artist must be nihilistic and hopeless? At the end of your film, after the other characters have been killed in sadistic and gruesome ways, the only survivor is the one who is evil incarnate, and we hear his cold laughter under a screen that has gone dark. [...] Your answer, that the world is evil and therefore it is your responsibility to reflect it, is no answer at all, but a surrender."[5]
References
- ^ "Chaos Tomatometer". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Chaos reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help) - ^ Fox, Ken. "Review of Chaos". TV Guide. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help) - ^ Ebert, Roger (2005-08-12). "Review of Chaos". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b Ebert, Roger (2005-08-19). "Evil in film: To what end?". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2007-03-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters:|month=and|coauthors=(help)