Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism filmmaker Nick Kozakis brings the party in his TIFF Midnighter Kick On—or, more appropriately, kills the party? I’m a sucker for “belly of the beast” thrillers: characters trapped on enemy turf with no escape. In that way, Kick On feels like Green Room’s lil’ sibling with entirely less to say, but comparable in survival frenetics and explosive gore—the highest compliment, since Green Room is near-perfect. Kozakis is having more fun with drugged-up party kids and moody mobsters, serving primo, practical-forward ultraviolence on a silver platter.
Eden (Markella Kavenagh) and her mates are all-night partiers. They can’t press on without a pick-me-up, so Zack (Nikita Chronis) phones his dealer for a cocktail pitstop. Soon enough, they’re in a sketchy Melbourne apartment complex, dealing with the son of a notorious crime lord, Ray (Nikolai Nikolaeff). Everything seems chill enough, with Ray begging his new friends to try his newest snortable formula. But after the vibes sour, Ray’s volatility spirals out of control—and he’s the one holding a double-barreled shotgun.
The simplicity of Kick On speaks volumes. Kozakis utilizes an energetic club-beat soundtrack, substance-fueled decisions, and rat-in-a-cage desperation to propel unspeakable awfulness. Everything happens in a nepobaby’s modest Scarface lounge complete with glass-sniffin’ surfaces and gaudy decorations (a car hood table that actually honks), heightening the sense of claustrophobia. Only one penthouse elevator out, too many floors up, with an exit guarded by Ray and his loyal thugs.
Eden’s dismal odds fuel our excitement; death descends like a dreadful inevitability.
Nikolai Nikolaeff, best known for Stranger Things and Daredevil, rages wild as a ruthless agent of strung-out chaos. Ray trusts no one, spurned by his ice-cold father and obsessed with his painting of Julius Caesar’s assassination. Writer Phillip Klimek toys with allegiances and mind games that sustain the brisk 90-ish minutes, giving Eden and her resilient yet outnumbered and outgunned victims a fighting chance. But Nikolaeff’s performance is central to the film’s hairpin psychosis, believable in his early hospitality sadness (begging to feel important in front of newbies), and intimidating as the impaired nepo-gangster who wants to clean up his mess before daddy intervenes.
Unfortunately for Ray, it’ll take more than an industrial power washer to scrub the body gunk from … well, everywhere. Kick On is a badass gusher of outstanding practical effects that’ll keep audiences squirming. Kozakis leans into exquisite body horror that gores appendages into fleshy stumps or bursts heads like water balloons. Atop direct nods to Green Room, punishment meets levels of The Raid and John Wick as Eden’s hopeless heroes encounter legit action henchmen ready to brawl. Kozakis’ special effects wizards never run out of juice; the crimson goodness flows like red wine on the set of The Godfather.
However, Kick On’s zero-frills approach has its share of development issues. It’s the perfect storm of rash stupidity across the board, and goofily coincidental at times. You’re here for the splattery bloodbath, not the blind eyes of law enforcement or greedy girlies sticking their fingers in dangerous cookie jars. Eden’s subplot about a hospitalized sister needing an expensive, lifesaving operation ups the ante, but it wavers in necessity. There’s plenty at stake without flashbacks to sick siblings, jamming a wrench into ass-kicking momentum. It’s a Friday night pizza watch with the lads, for better or worse.
Still, as that cheesy slice of after-dark entertainment, Kick On comes piping hot and loaded with toppings. Hoots and hollers are guaranteed; a radical exploitation flick that doesn’t exploit much beyond mutilation. Frankly, it’s the perfect film festival adrenaline boost that’ll have ya buzzing and raising hell well into the wee morning hours. They say nothing good happens after 2 AM, but they’re dead wrong because Kick On kicks the bloody doors down. Kozakis’ jacked-up meat pulverizer of an action-horror flick is the good stuff.
Movie Score: 3.5/5