The Aggression Scale: What If Kevin McAllister & Hanna Had a Baby?
Whether they’re sparking controversy or groans, killer kids are all the rage these days. Movies like Kick Ass, Super, Hanna, and most recently God Bless America all feature kids cussing, stabbing, and slaughtering their way into our hearts. For most viewers, these overt attempts at shock fall flaccid. They’re fun characters, but after a while, watching cutthroat kids murder and crack wise gets just as dull as watching grown-ups do the same. Enter Steven Miller’s low-budget crowd-pleaser The Aggression Scale – a breath of fresh air in the killer kiddie realm and one badass survival thriller.
Wrapped around a simple plot involving a vengeful gangster and stolen money, The Aggression Scale is a energetic tale of survival that could easily be marketed as an R-rated, hyperviolent remake of Home Alone. Newlyweds Bill and Maggie are moving into a new home while struggling to get their kids (from separate marriages) to get along. Elder child Laura is in a constant state of whine and I wanted to throttle her after only a few seconds onscreen. While Lauren never stops complaining, younger child Owen (Ryan Hartwig) never speaks at all. Fresh out of a juvenile mental hospital for his sociopathic behavior, unassuming Owen is constantly observing, plotting, and (literally) sharpening his tools.
When some hitmen under the order of Ray Wise show up at their house, the family has to do everything in their power to survive. This doesn’t end up so well for Bill and Maggie, but Owen is instantly thrust into his deranged element. With Lauren in tow, Owen wreaks havoc upon the hitmen through deadly booby traps, makeshift weapons, and even a good old-fashioned bat to the head. Imagine if Kevin McAllister and Hanna had a love child. That’s Owen.
The hitmen, including Jacob Reynolds from Gummo and Derek Mears, the revamped Jason Voorhees, are picked off one by one, but not before being dragged through the ringer by Owen. The booby traps get increasingly more brutal and bloody – the Mouse-Trap-esque one in the basement was my personal favorite. Derek Mears takes the brunt of most of these traps and his reactions provide some much-needed comic relief amidst the chaos. Ryan Hartwig steals the show though. Even though he has only two lines in the whole movie – “Nyagh!” and “NYAGH!” – he still manages to grip us. I’d follow that kid into a mine field any day.
Each kinetic cat-and-mouse scene is a crowd-pleaser that adds a fresh twist on the home invasion genre. While The Aggression Scale is a little rough around the edges, it’s always entertaining. The action is well staged and the violence splatters in operatic fashion. The camera drips with energy. The score is incredible. For such a low-budget effort, they made the best movie possible. Young director Steven Miller has got the chops to make bigger and better films, so here’s hoping his budgets swell in the future. The Aggressions Scale is out on DVD and Blu-ray May 29 via Anchor Bay Entertainment.