Merolliv
I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.
Rio Hayward
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Leofwine_draca
I'm constantly surprised that stupid films like this one keep getting made when there's so much better stuff out there that could be adapted for the screen. KILL YOUR FRIENDS is nothing more than an American Psycho rip-off, set in Britain during the booming music scene in the late 1990s. Nicholas Hoult plays a young and ambitious producer who discovers that the best way to get ahead in the business is to murder his rivals.This was based on a novel I have no interest in reading because this really is terrible entertainment. It's about the most low brow film I can think of, with a script filled with expletives and no wit. Hoult plays a horrible character in a film filled with horrible characters and there really is no reason to watch. It's widely advertised as a gory serial killer type movie when in fact it's very slow paced and murder barely plays a part in the proceedings.KILL YOUR FRIENDS is a film about unpleasant people made for unpleasant people. I suppose it might have been made as a black comedy but I can truthfully say I didn't laugh once. Hoult has no presence as a leading man; he got away with it in JACK THE GIANT SLAYER because he had plenty of acting heavyweights in support, but here he's completely out of his depth. The less said about James Corden's non-acting style the better. This is one of the few films that I wish I'd never bothered watching.
shock-lit
It became a modern trend to rebrand shockingly poor films as "dark comedies" - it's one rock cliché after another, but it presents a parallel world where A&R people are the rockstars and the rockstars live lives of accountants.There are no laughs. It's not that absurd. It's just ridiculous.It follows the same story as Vinyl - if you've seen Vinyl, then this is almost the exact same story. A&R person kills someone, beats him to death with an award/trophy, the slowest, dumbest murder investigation, corruption, hedonism, sex, drugs (nopes, no rock 'n roll, just office workers pretending like they're rock stars).The show has an arrogant way of pretending "We (record companies) tell you what's cool, what isn't, we tell you what to listen to" and so on. It continues a theme started by certain shows about advertising, but takes it to a whole new level. The problem with that is how far they go and the irreconcilable issues they themselves present with this.Firstly, they show that they can make any bunch of idiots into rockstars and pop idols, it's all make up, photography, studio work and so on, fine. So the record companies make the stars. They tell the fans what to like and what not to like. Fine. But then they have this incredible fear of missing out on the next big band - what? Didn't you just say you tell people what to like? Didn't you say you can make any nobody into a star? So how do you "miss out"? "I don't want to be the person who said 'no' to band X..." It makes no sense. It's a terrible film made by someone who clearly feels left out. They want to be stars, they want to party like they're stars, but can't, so they pretend that they hold all the power.In reality this doesn't make sense. It's one massive ego trip and fails to be anything but that.If you really want to see this film, watch Vinyl instead. Same story, but better made. Vinyl is a 5/10, but it's almost twice as better as this crap.
FlashCallahan
London, 1997. The British music industry is on a winning streak. Britpop rule the airwaves and Cool Britannia is in full swing. 27-year-old A&R man Steven Stelfox is slashing and burning his way through the music business. Fueled by greed, ambition and drugs, Stelfox searches for his next hit record amid a relentless orgy of self-gratification. Created by an industry that demands success at any price, Stelfox takes the concept of 'killer tunes' to a new level in a desperate attempt to rocket propel his career into the big time.......A word if warning, if you don't find the thought of Nicholas Hoult being smug for the entire film, breaking the fourth wall with his damning social commentary, doing that thing where we see him saying something to somebody, and then realising that it's what he's thinking, and using the screen as his own catwalk, steer clear.He is Executive producer after all.As soon as the first song from the era played, I was sold right until the end. I was twenty when this film was set, and Britpop was everywhere. The late nineties had a small boom of yuppiedom about it, and although the people in this film are archetype dislikable snakes, it only makes it easier for us to root for the bad guy.The use of the music is predictable, but still a lot of fun. If you are a fan of The Prodigy, when the film plays 'Smack My Ahem Up', you know exactly what point of the song Steven is going to attack his victim.Like the people portrayed in the film, it is a very shallow affair, and the narrative just leads us to the path of Stevens next victim, and from the upstart, you know will get unjust desserts, because he looks at them a little bonkers.When watching it, one cannot help but reference American Psycho, a far more superior film and Book about consumerism.I wouldn't have been one bit surprised if this was called British psycho, it may have made a bit more money, and I guarantee if this were made fifteen years ago, when it would have been more appropriate, it would have starred Bale.But like I've said, if were certain demographic in 1997, there is a lot to appreciate here.Not a great film, but hugely nostalgic for some.And it features a great big middle finger to all those parasitic processed pop groups that poison our airwaves.
MattyAndAnnika
Kill Your Friends (2015) is an outstanding film based on the happenings with the music industry as an a&r rep. This film is beautifully packed with the perfect cast, the perfect script; this film is on point from start to finish. The moment I heard about Kill Your Friends (2015), I knew I had to see it that it was a film that had my attention and it did. As the movie started up it had that "Trainspotting" vibe to it, the chaos factor, the thrill ride; everything was intact. The way the story cycled through as it pulls you closer to the edge preparing to unwind; this film is perfect in all ways.This is a great film for indie musicians to watch, and of course fans of music in general; this movie does point out some true tips. This is certainly a film that will be in our personal DVD collection.