Cactus Jack

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03/06/2021 An unbelievable performance of an all too real facet of the human population. No doubt the underlying tenet of this film will be ignored due to the extremely inflammatory nature of its content. The disgusting, vile hatred being spewed from the stereotypical Nazi skinhead separatist could easily be found in any race, any culture, any gender. These individuals, organizations, entities exist in every corner of the world. Hatred permeates all colors, all societies, all religions. What resonated with me is the depiction of just how deeply and resolutely the main character believed and justified his mass hatred for any and all groups of individuals that weren't him. The complete consumption of his entire life by it. Being so blind to just anything beyond his own pigeoned holed reality. THAT is the true horror of the film. On a side bar, R. Michael Gull's performance.....Oscar worthy! That is a pretty 'biggest balls of all' kinda role right there. Not a pleasant movie, but most definitely a thought provoker. One that stays with you for a minute after it's over. See more 01/30/2021 Painful yet necessary... See more 01/29/2021 Best horror flick of 2021 so far. Would've made my top 10 list of 2020 had it been released then. Very ballsy film that I'm sure will be polarizing. Ballsiest film I've seen since "Natural Born Killers". What made it believable, thus more horrifying, was R. Michael Gull's performance -- it's about as terrifying as it gets. Sure to go down as one of the most vile horror movie villains we've ever seen. See more 01/26/2021 When a budding documentarian falls upon a paranoid neighbor who hasn't left his mom's basement in over six months, he thinks he's found the perfect subject for his next piece but quickly discovers Ronald is an an unhinged, vitriolic extremist who hates pretty much everyone who doesn't have a white penis, including his own mother. What follows is a deep dive down a very dark rabbit hole of xenophobia at the dawn of President 45's election, until Ronald turns on his documentarian, taking him hostage and using his equipment to become the media cult sensation CACTUS JACK, spewing hate and inciting violence in the name of a better AmeriKKa. As his base builds, so does the online opposition, building to a frenzied, shocking climax. From the opening frame, CACTUS JACK is a barrel of TNT with Wile E. Coyote lighting a match on top of it. R. Michael Gull plays Ronald/Cactus Jack with an unmatched, balls-out fervor rarely seen on stage or screen. Gull's take on the role is a career-defining performance most actors should be jealous of--he is both believable and frightening every step of the way. The most realistic & terrifying of his many great moments is the quiet one amongst the chaos, where Cactus Jack dresses in military garb while teasing 'It's a beautiful a day in the neighborhood....could you be my neighbor...?" it's a stark, cold reminder THERE ARE people like this among us. Whatever your views, whatever side of the aisle you sit on, the CACTUS JACK'S of this world are our worst nightmares, and all too real to be taken lightly. This film by Chris and Jay Thornton give us a unique, no holds barred window into the world of extremism. The brothers set out to make a challenging work of art in genre trappings, and they have succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. It is a success of both craft & content--they shot this film mostly on cell phones. The greatest fiction is born of truth, and CACTUS JACK spares no truth. This movie is not for the timid- it is bold, offensive, yet very insightful. Just when you think it is too much, you realize it's making you think--about your views, your neighbors, the world we live in and the world we've just come from. Good art almost always offends someone--but it also has a message. CACTUS JACK delivers it's message with all the subtlety of an H-Bomb. Hopefully, you understand it. See more 01/25/2021 Scary in a real way. A visceral deep dive into an extreme and abhorrent point of view. A unique mix of American History X and the "Cult" season of American Horror Story. See more 01/23/2021 I'm not gonna try to give some pretentious review, critiquing every nano second on a microscopic level, I'm just going to make this straight forward and to the point: CACTUS JACK was amazing. Two extremely talented writers/directors/brothers used their phones and a shoe string budget to make a better movie than some of the colossal big budget hack films. I don't even know What to say about Michael Gull's performance. Again, I'm not gonna be a pretentious twat and pretend I know shit about acting, but I do know when something moves me on an emotional level and Gull's performance was probably one of the best I've seen in years. His performance might be up there with Norton's in American History X. Standing ovation to all involved in creating this amazing, insightful work that reflects on what can and does go wrong in this world when the Id is left unchecked and allowed free reign. See more Read all reviews

Cactus Jack

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