20140320: Thriller Review--Killing Jar

Killing Jar

1. Fundamentals, reception.
1. American live action feature length film, 2010, rated R, 90 minutes, crime, thriller.
2. IMDB: 5.9/10.0 from 1,838 audience ratings.  Estimated budget, 400,000 USD.
3. Rotten Tomatoes: 0% on the meter; 33% liked it from 552 audience ratings.
4. Netflix: 3.4/5.0 from 302,816 audience ratings.
5. Written and directed by: Mark Young.
6. Starring: Michael Madsen as Doe, Danny Trejo as Jimmie, Harold Perrineau as John Dixon (Smith), Amber Benson as Noreen, Jake Busey as Greene, Kevin Gage as Hank, Lew Temple as Lonnie.


2. Setup and Plot
1. The film is shot in a diner (the Copal Grill) in a small town called Silver Lake, where the lake has dried up some years back.  Jimmie is the manager/owner/cook, Noreen is the waitress on duty during the film, Dixon is the man passing through from a conference to his home in Brooklyn.  Lonnie is one of the local cops; Hank sort of lives at the diner.  Doe blows in after the group heard the story of a family of four getting murdered in a nearby town.  He immediately gets on Noreen's case, and pisses Jimmie off.


2. Lonnie is one of the dullest tools in the shed, and he does not pick up on Doe being a possible problem.  Noreen convinces him to talk to the man.  He does.  Doe leaves, then comes back with a fully loaded multi-shot shotgun.  He kills Lonnie and Jimmie immediately for the insults.


3. Noreen, John, Hank, and the two teen-aged kids are stuck in the diner with Doe.  For a short while, Doe seems to have everything under control, but then Greene walks into the diner.  Greene brings money to pay 'Mr. Smith' for the job completed.  Greene tries to walk out, but Doe informs him that he is not Smith.  Of course, we've already met Smith; we just have to find out who it is.


4. Greene attempts to bargain with Doe.  That does not work.  Turns out it was a real estate deal that Greene wanted to complete to avoid vengeance from loan sharks.  To cure his problem, Greene hires an enforcer to convince the farmer to sell his land.  So the enforcer did the murders of the family that the diner heard about earlier.


5. Do we discover who the enforcer is?  Does anyone escape from Doe?


3. Conclusions
1. Talk about low budget!! Very little spent on sets and props.
2. One line summary: Nice character driven small film.
3. Four stars of five.


4. Scores
1. Cinematography: 7/10 Iffy at best, but the lighting in diners does suck.


2. Sound: 9/10 Pretty good; all the actors were well-miked.


3. Acting: 9/10  Good.  I liked Madsen, Busey, Benson, Perrineau, and Gage quite well.  Trejo's part was small, but he was good for the spot.


4. Screenplay: 8/10 Nicely done.