They say revenge is a dish best served cold, but from what I’ve learnt from movies, it’s usually a dish best served covered in warm arterial blood. And that seems to be exactly the case in Blue Ruin, a new revenge thriller from cinematographer-turned-director/writer Jeremy Saulnier. The movie picked up nothing but crazy positive buzz when it made the rounds on the festival circuit last year, and now it’s finally getting a public release. And by the looks of things, it was worth the wait.
A mysterious outsider’s (Macon Blair) quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.
The film has a very simple narrative – a man receives word that the man who killed his parents has been released from prison, and goes to take revenge – but director Saulnier and leading man Blair apparently turn it into a thrilling study in tension. I’ve seen it compared a few time to Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners – and that is definitely not a bad thing – with some even saying that this is the better film. And based on all the praise it’s getting, some of which you saw in the trailer, this definitely looks like a movie to keep an eye out for.
Blue Ruin hits VOD and select cinemas on April 25, 2014.
Last Updated: March 5, 2014
RinceThis
March 5, 2014 at 14:57
Okay, need to watch this!