The Killing Jar (2010) User Reviews

A Small Town Thriller with a Big Heart

[sorandor · 7/10 · 22 August 2010]

When i first saw this movie appear on my local DVD store shelf, i wondered why it never saw light of day at my local cinema.

Michael Madsen and Amber Benson are the main stars here, and they put in a couple of fine performances. Possibly Michael Madsen most similar performance since his infamous role one in Reservoir Dogs. In fact, there is even a "Mr Green" here too! The film is shot entirely in one location (a diner) during one particular night. The diner is home to Noreen, a waitress who although unsatisfied with her job, is the type of small town girl who is happy to just do it. Meanwhile, the patrons comprise of various people who are stopping by on their way through, and we get to know each one a little more in detail as the movie progresses.

The movie flows along at a steady pace, and the director ensures this is maintained throughout the movie. This is a positive thing, as it allows us to enter the small town philosophy a little easier. The music throughout is also excellently chosen, and by the time the titles came up at the end i was ready to rush out and buy the CD.

However, one essential thing to take into account when you watch this movie is, don't take it too seriously. I became a little frustrated at why some parts of the story weren't removed and other parts put in. For example, why out of two strangers who walk into a diner does Noreen warm to one, and alienate the other all based on a radio report? And why doesn't the director utilise the video camera that the 2 kids bring to the diner to add some depth to the plot? But maybe this on purpose, as a red herring for people who look too deep into plot lines.

Putting these small gripes aside, if you enjoy a small town thriller that may have a small budget, but sure has a big heart, fried up with a couple of fine performances then this is a great Saturday night movie.

I certainly enjoyed it, and whilst it wont go down as a classic, i would recommend it for those late night Saturday blues, its intriguing, exciting, but if you're looking for a film that will keep you on the edge of your seat, then this isn't the one for you.

A thriller only playing in one location

[playboy69-1 · 5/10 · 21 August 2010]

The movie plays in a little coffee-bar only, different people come together. It's an interesting play of tension and violence. The movie is professional done while it's still a rather cheap production (probably the salary for Michael Madsen and the other actors was by far the most expensive thing). Good actors in this movie, good acting by them. It's by far not a brilliant movie, I wouldn't even say it's very good. It's a good movie, an OK movie, that is quite entertaining and let's the time go by fast. You will want to see it through to the end after the first 20 or so minutes at least that's how it was for me. A must for Michael Madsen Fans, and still a possibility for everyone else.

I'm not all that smart and sophisticated but there's one thing that I can do that you can't.. I Can Count!

[sol-kay · 7/10 · 12 September 2011]

***SPOILERS*** The news hit's the people in the roadside diner like a shot out of hell!Four people an entire family was murdered just outside of town and their killer may well be headed their way! With the workers and patrons not knowing quite what to expect in pops this greasy looking trucker Doe, like in the song Doe' Ra' Me', played by a moody and a bit unshaved looking Michael Medsen. Doe for some reason fits the description of the on the loose mass murderer and one of the customers in the diner Local deputy sheriff Lonnie, Lew Temple,tries to ask Doe a few questions about where he was earlier that evening.

This was a big mistake on Lonnie's part as well as the diner owner and cook Jimmy,Danny Jrejo, who refused to serve, because the kitchen was already closed, a hungry Doe an order of stake & potatoes. They were to became the first victims in the movie of this deranged lunatic. We soon find out that Doe is on a mission. A mission to find out who murdered that family of four earlier that evening and bring him to justice! To brutal and deadly justice! And Doe doesn't care how many innocent lives it will take for him to find the killer! Even if it's everyone in the diner who for the most part, with one possible exception, were nowhere near the murder scene!

Effective and utterly shocking thriller with Michale Medsen as Doe at his most brutal and sadistic worst torturing and murdering everyone in the diner until he finds out who the killer is. Doe got tipped off to the killer being in the diner when Mr. Green, Jack Busey, showed up with a suite-case full of cash in payment for the hit job, the family he knocked off, he did for him. The big mistake that Mr. Green made was that he had mistaken Doe for the hit-man that he hired and that soon was to cost him his life. Fully convinced that he's on the right track Doe goes about doing his grizzly and bloody work on everyone in the diner to get whoever murdered those four innocent people to confess and then****Spoiler****instead of murdering him chat with the guy? Doe talks with the now exposed killer about the good old days when the two, Doe in the US Army in Iraq and the killer in the Mafia, killed for county family honor and just for plain entertainment!

***SPOILERS*** With enough blood spilled to fully stock a major city hospital blood-bank the end couldn't have come soon enough for the psycho Doe who just for some reason left the one person whom he didn't feel threatened by alive long enough to do him it. But the biggest surprise in the film is not only who the mysterious killer was but how sideswiped or blown way he got by thinking that he was smarter then the person,the lone survivor in the diner, with the gun pointed at him. If he knew how to count or kept up with the shooting action in the movie he'd have known that it's best for him to be able to keep his big mouth shut and not overplay his hand.

The Actors Studio!

[pdmanske · 7/10 · 2 August 2013]

Grabastic - I'm a channel flipper and I stopped flipping for this little gem. The movie was all about acting, it reminded me of 12 Angry Men or Night Of The Living Dead as it took place in a small space and was packed with tension and personalities. Bloody movie if you want street cred. You really didn't know who would be shot next or how or why. Micheal Madsen filled his type cast as a deranged thug and the rest of the cast played through acting school chops. Madsen got to ham it up and his experience showed. The writing was well done and tightly edited. Jake Busey as always bought the air of chaos and wildness along and fleshed his character out well. You could really imagine the actors walking around the green room with a script and talking to themselves.

Not too bad

[ichocolat · 27 August 2010]

Let me begin by saying that this film is not your usual fare. It does not follow the usual chronology the other films are usually done.

This film starts with a scene where a few people (5 people to be exact; 3 customers and 2 restaurant workers) having a late night dinner. Then an out-of-towner came in, looking disgruntled and asked where he can use the payphone. The fella sat down afterward for a cup of coffee.

Noreen (played by Amber Benson) soon began to get cosy with the guy (Harold Perrineau) and it bothers the other customer who has heart for her.

Then they were taken aback at the news of a brutal killings of a family in their neighborhood.

To make matters worse, another person came into the restaurant and sent jitters to all of them, as they thought the person is the one responsible with the murders.

One thing led to another, and soon finds out that the person is not their usual customers; this is the person with guns ready to shoot & kill.

Then the question of who Mr.Smith arises, are tension arose as to whom this person could be.

I'd rather not spoiled the whole film, and I'd suggest you to watch it yourself. I personally thought that this film goes fast & turned too slow at times, and the pace may not suit everybody's taste.

I have also not seen other films directed by Mark Young, so my judgment is not clouded by other films he might have made.

An overall good film; not great but certainly watchable.

Not bad. Not too great, but not bad.

[richieblac · 6/10 · 27 December 2011]

Some real bad acting, lots of cheesy lines and situations (especially the ending) - but it's all delivered in a way that you feel like you're watching a small play, and it just manages to let you kick back and see where the story goes. You're simply watching a movie, finding out what happens next. It's a very basic and "by the books" film experience, and it seems to know it.

What really saves it is nearly perfect pacing and editing.

It won't impress you, but it won't drive you nuts. "It's just a movie." That phrase actually fits this film really, really well.

6/10

A mysterious stranger enters a diner and is accused of murder. He turns the tables and secrets are reveled. Just OK. I say C

[cosmo_tiger · 5/10 · 18 February 2011]

When a mysterious stranger (Madsen) enters a diner after news of a killing spree, secrets become revealed. After hearing about a brutal killing, a mysterious stranger comes in to a diner at closing time. The waitress and the six customers begin to think this stranger is the killer. After taking control of the situation the stranger begins to uncover secrets of the hostages. Not everyone is who they seem to be. This is yet another movie with a lot of potential but doesn't keep your attention. There are some pretty intense parts but overall pretty slow moving. It's not terrible but not a great first choice for nightly entertainment. I give it a C.

Would I watch again? - No, this is a movie that doesn't get better with repeated viewings.

Much better than expected

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 1 March 2018]

THE KILLING JAR is a fun, violent little B-movie thriller with a strong cast and interesting story. It reminded me a lot of Tarantino's most recent movie, THE HATEFUL EIGHT, albeit with a contemporary setting. I have to say that it's a lot better than the Tarantino movie. The setting is a typical roadside diner, where a number of patrons and staff are assembled before the mysterious and murderous Michael Madsen shows up and starts killing people. There's a mystery back story and lots of murk surrounding the character intentions to keep this moving along, plus plenty of graphic violence of the kind you'd expect in a horror movie. Aside from the solidly reliable Madsen, Jake Busey and Danny Trejo have memorable smaller roles and Amber Benson holds everything together nicely as the ordinary waitress caught up in a nightmare.

Kitchen's closed...

[Siamois · 2/10 · 23 August 2010]

Very late at night, a crummy dinner. 30-something waitress Noreen is stuck with this job, with this life. Her boss is obnoxious and stingy. The regular customers boring as hell. But all of a sudden, a report on the radio speaks of the murder of an entire family in a town not too far from there and a shady guy played by Michael Madsen, who looks and acts like every character Madsen ever played in every B-movie he was ever part of walks in. And all hell breaks loose in the best (or worse, depends how you feel about it) tradition of Madsen B- movies.

I left a few details out so as to not spoil the plot but the thing is basically an overstretched thriller with a plot that relies on the most unlikely of coincidence. Writer/director Mark Young (who's got a list of crappy, forgettable credit on his resume) tries to make things tensed but since the characters are so bland and cliché, we don't really care about what happens. Several scenes are gory, almost going in horror territory but they don't really work. And so the film doesn't really work as a thriller and it's way too little to be an entertaining horror flick.

Young's writing and direction seems to point at Noreen (Amber Benson) as our protagonist but everything is so spread out, it's difficult to care about her. To her credit, Benson probably delivers the most engaging performance but that's not saying much considering every other character has little to no depth and most actors are mailing it in. Even underrated actor Kevin Gage is unremarkable, as he has nothing to work with most of the time.

Of course, because this stupid movie has no budget, the whole plot is confined to the crappy dinner, where almost nothing happens. What really, really kills the movie is its gloriously overextended climax. After 90 minutes or so of boring events, the resolution is a final confrontation between two characters that lasts five minutes of them basically arguing "yes", "no". I'm not kidding or exaggerating here. Over five FULL minutes of absolutely nothing happening. Talk about weak writing and directing here.

There are movies which have a good idea but a bad execution. There are movies that are all about a stupid plot but high entertainment values. And then there are B-movies like the Killing Jar, which have not much redeeming about them and seem entirely to be vehicles for actors in need of a paycheck. Looking at the producing credits, you will notice Michael Madsen's name as well as Harold Perrineau and that's pretty much all you need to know about this movie.

I've seen even worse movie than this one but I do think people can find much, much better than this, even in the realm of B-movies.

Avoid.

Unevenly Entertaining

[dweebcentric · 6/10 · 14 July 2012]

After hearing reports of a quadruple homicide in the neighboring town on the radio, a handful of people at a diner in a dead end town wonder if the mysterious, short-tempered man (Michael Madsen) who arrives shortly afterwards is the killer. Things are far from what they seem.

Though a tense thriller, thanks to the advantage of a cramped setting (everything happens in one night at the diner), it is somewhat uneven, suffering from poorly developed characters (like the police officer) and underscored situations. Still, 'The Killing Jar' is saved by good acting and an intriguing story, and fans of Michael Madsen, who appears in usual form as the unhinged weirdo, are sure to enjoy this one.

"I've got a job. A job I'm gonna finish"

[hwg1957-102-265704 · 5/10 · 10 July 2021]

The plot is a bit contrived with two plot lines that don't really gel together. The main weakness is the character of Doe played gruffly by Michael Madsen as he has no background and no understandable motive in what he does. Why is he keen on finding out who killed the family? Why does he go on a killing spree? Doe is threatening indeed but his actions don't make sense. The film is largely set in a diner (run by Danny Trejo!) which does help the tension but mainly things just happen. The ending is pretty good though. Good acting support is given by Harold Perrineau as Smith and Jake Busey as Mr. Greene. It had a good initial concept but failed in the development of it.

HOTTER THAN NINE NAKED WOMEN IN A VOLKSWAGEN

[nogodnomasters · 8/10 · 15 August 2018]

There is nothing like an out of the way restaurant to present a weird film. You have the ability to bring together diverse characters that normally don't come together. Such is not really the case here, but it is nice to think they could have done that. A group of people are in Jimmy's (Danny Trejo) Copal Grill at closing time. The radio claims a local family in the next county has been gruesomely murdered. As the folks in the restaurant get nervous, in walks Michael Madsen, stranger. This isn't the holly jolly Madsen, but the "bet I can creep you out more than Eric Roberts with a goatee", Madsen. When the local deputy (Lew Temple) goes Barney Fife on him, things get ugly as the film turns into a restaurant abduction film with a nice twist and the best pecan pie this side of the Mason-Dixon line.

Even if you do see the twist coming, the film is still interesting to watch to see how it plays out. Amber Benson plays the waitress Noreen. There is a truck driver, (Kevin Gage) salesman (Harold Perrineau) and a young couple (Lindsey Axelsson and Talan Torrieo). Decent semi-psychological thriller with drama and blood. Considering the dog westerns Madsen has been in lately this is indeed a step in the right direction for Michael Madsen fans.

Parental Guide: F-bombs, no sex, no nudity.

Not Bad

[anitalansing-40-581915 · 6/10 · 26 August 2020]

I remembered watching this movie on TV late at night but I didn't get the name of it. It was so suspenseful, but I was haunted not remembering the name. Well, I watched Reservoir Dogs tonight and it hit me that Michael Madsen was in this movie! He does loathsome and despicable so well. Michael kept the movie from being dry and boring. Not bad movie.

Trejo no way...but the guy from lost oh yeah!!

[joifulness · 1/10 · 1 November 2015]

When I say Danny Trejo was going to be in this, I knew this movie wouldn't be very good. I don't know why people like him. His acting is not acting at all. It is like he is just yelling all the time with a stick up his butt. The acting by the others are okay. I think it is just the writing and directing by the director that made this movie a fail in my opinion. Not even 20 minutes into the movie and I was irritated by the writer's/director's inability to understand that showing something is stronger than having an actor follow up with the obvious. For example, the waitress is rubbing her temples which could only mean one thing, she has a headache. Well the male actor sitting next to her asks what's the matter when we can obviously tell she has a headache. Second, when the waitress gets in an altercation with a patron, Trejo, the cook and owner, waits until it is over to jump to his waitress's aid.

Finding out who certain people are and the backstory is very good, but all the violence wasn't necessary. It just felt like it was thrown in. You never know why some people do the things they did and you still won't for the main shooter really. If you are into gory movies this is for you and if you like a good attempt at a plot this is it, but I wouldn't watch this again for most of the acting, or directing. Although the guy from lost was amazing in this movie!!

Decent but not great - could have been very good though.

[xdsi97 · 18 September 2011]

Entertaining movie. Pressure cooker thriller. In theory the movie has all the ingredients of Reservoir dogs. Gritty storyline and a cast that includes Michael Madsen and Danny Trejo. But the movie falls short... Madsen is brilliant as always and Harold Perrineau delivers a good performance, but they are unable to make-up for Amber Benson's disappointment. Danny Trejo has a total of two minutes of screen time, and he is never shown fully (he is shown through a kitchen window)... Noreen, the central character played by Amber Benson, was the weakest link. Also, the pressure is let out a bit too prematurely... In all, a movie that has potential, but fails. That said, for a direct-to-DVD movie, this is very good. It is not an excellent movie, but a decent one at the very least. If you have nothing else to do, this might be a decent pastime movie.

Amber Benson at her best ...

[CastleofGlass1987 · 7/10 · 12 November 2018]

To start this film was alot better then i expected and Amber Benson nailed her role perfectly.The premise of this film is that of a guy(Doe played by the brilliant Michael Madsen)walks into a diner and holds the patrons hostage, he kills two people and we think okay so this guy is awful and barabaric, enter another man(Greene played by Jake Busey) who shows up and calls the man smith and gives him money, turns out he aint smith and doesnt know what this guy is talking about , cut back to prior micheal madsens character entrance a murder of a family was announced on the radio) , it is then found that smith is the guy who killed the family , Doe then comes to the realisation that smith must be in the diner,so starts questioning everyone.Then we discover who he is , the ending is satisfying as Amber Bensons character comes out on top. The best thing about this movie is the acting from Amber Benson ,Michael Madsen and Harold Perrineau. There are some real brutal scenes and alot of suspence makes this movie a highly underated one. I would defenitly have a watch of this, well deserving of a 7/10.

Michael Madsen & a minimalistic original screenplay: good enough!

[alihandemiral · 7/10 · 3 November 2017]

Upon reading the film's summary you may think that Michael Madsen returns yet as another villain in a B-movie. But, there's a little twist! Playing both the bad guy and the lead, Madsen pulls it of by mixing his most famous roles Mr.Blonde and Budd and adds a little bit of The Gent (from "Hellride")in there for his portrayal of Doe. The screenplay is one of the most original and suitable ones ever for a B-movie setting. One location, right amount of dialogue and gore with a storyline that connects the unique with the cliché. However, Mark Young cannot perform as well in the director's chair. There's so much potential in the film for it to become the Reservoir Dogs of the 21st Century: a great setting, an unexpected and fun-to- watch turning of events & a solid cast led by legendary Madsen and also starring likes of Harold Perrineau, Jake Busey and Danny Trejo. Yet Mark Young's incompetency behind the camera drops a possible rating of 8.5/9 to around 7. Still, this picture is a must for Michael Madsen fans and lovers of minimalistic crime flicks.

Awful Acting

[kingpin666-1 · 2/10 · 21 August 2010]

I just finished watching this film. And what a waste of 90 minutes that was. I'm not much of a film critic, but this was truly awful.

At first, I was fairly excited by the line-up. Some fairly half-decent actors to grace this film, however poor writing caused poor acting. Especially Amber Benson, whose awkward silences between dialogue and general crappy deliverance skills made the majority of this film unbearable.

In all fairness however, Harold Perrineau and Michael Madsen's acting was not overly bad, but the poor acting around them brought their performance down too, along with the poor script.

Plot not overly exciting, twist could have been more of a boost if executed properly and made more of a deal about it. However, nothing seemed to come of it, except a 5 minute conversation right at the end.

I haven't seen any of Mark Young's other films, but if I ever get the chance to see another one... I will be avoiding it.

Poor Show.

When it's good it's good, when it's average it's pretty average

[jtindahouse · 6/10 · 14 June 2022]

I've been clear in the past, I very rarely like it when a film opens with a scene from later on in the story. Even though the scene 'The Killing Jar' chooses to show us isn't from very far into the movie, it completely ruins the suspense and mystery of the opening 20-30 minutes of the film. A terrible decision.

As far as B-level casts go this is a pretty interesting one. Lots of names who have turned in some pretty iconic performances over the years, but have faded away a bit lately. We know that all of them have the potential to be very watchable though and for the most part they are here. Everyone seems to commit to the project pretty well and it shows.

The film has a mystery element, however it doesn't do a very good job of hiding its secrets very well. Even someone like me, who makes a point of not trying to work anything out and just going along for the ride, was able to see pretty clearly who was who and what was what.

I enjoy single-setting films and I love some good old-fashioned violence in my films. This film has both. There's some good stuff and some not so good stuff in 'The Killing Jar'. Give it a chance and it might just surprise you how much you enjoy it. 6/10.

Too bloody

[drjgardner · 5/10 · 6 October 2016]

The Killing Jar has a lot to recommend it, especially the great acting by Michael Madsen (a favorite of mine), Amber Benson, Jake Busey, and Harold Perrineau (he played Damon Pope on "Sons of Anarchy" and Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet"). But what might be a tight thriller gets a little too bloody, to the point where it is gratuitous rather than adding to the story. Toned down it would have made for a much better story.

I'm a big Michael Madsen fan and I never tire of his walks on the dark side in films like "Kill Bill", "Sin City", "Getaway" and, of course, "Reservoir Dogs". He's capable of playing other types of roles ("Wyatt Earp", "Species", "Free Willy") but audiences come to expect the violent portrayals. In this film I think he does a lot more acting and his character is not as one dimensional as Mr. Blonde. It's certainly the equivalent of his multi-faceted character from "Kill Bill".

The film is a definite must for Madsen fans.

So-So

[mongomauler-1 · 3/10 · 10 April 2011]

SPOILER ALERT.

Not only is the description of this movie wrong, but it is so predictable and really kind of boring. It is a Diner, not a coffee shop and there isn't 7 survivors that I ever count. The five survivors not counting Jake Busey who would have made it 6 never really figured out who the other dangerous person was or even if he/she was there until the person admitted to it when only 2 of them were left anyway. Just another excuse for a movie to kill people and show a lot of blood on a cheap budget. It is so obvious what is going to happen because everything is restricted to so few actors in just one small roadside diner.

Nearly perfect script and stellar acting make this claustrophobic blood fest a minor classic

[bob_meg · 10/10 · 4 September 2011]

The Killing Jar has one of those scripts that is almost too perfect. It recalls iron-clad thrillers like Ira Levin's "Deathtrap" and David Mamet's "House of Games" with its no-detail-is-too-minor subtleties. And it even brought to mind shades of Mark Medak's "When You Comin' Back Red Ryder?" And then there are the Tarantino influences....

Look, any script that can rarely veer outside of one location for an hour and a half and still keep your attention is doing something right, but film-fest fave Mark Young's The Killing Jar, save for a few bad MINOR character performances (Danny Trejo phoning it in as Danny Trejo is the most obvious), does practically everything right.

It's late one night at a local diner in a no name redneck town, and all the locals are there, killing time. A report comes on the radio about a mass-murder in the next town over. When an anonymous stranger (Michael Madsen) arrives with a surly, stand-offish attitude, they gradually begin to suspect he's the perpetrator.

What follows is an elaborate set of mind games and mental torture that reminded me favorably of "Ryder" in their intimate intensity, interspersed with a lot of sudden violence and gore. I liked how violent this movie was. It drove home the immediacy of the character's peril, fit with the script's over-arching theme, and looked very real...the blood is dark red and there are buckets of it...very similar to how it was used in Tarantino's classic Reservoir Dogs.

That smacks of homage, as does the casting of Michael Madsen, who is playing, for better or worse, Mr. Blonde again. But you know what? I didn't care. The dude is good, and he has that role down pat. What surprised me were the alluring performances by the rest of the cast, most notably Amber Benson (who even contributes the closing song). She plays Noreen, a waitress who's drawn painfully true-to-life. Something in Ms. Benson's facial expressions and delivery really sell you on the goodness of her intentions and she's the badly needed anchor for this film. Harold Perrineau and Kevin Gage also provide solid support within difficult-to-pull-off multi-layered characters.

The Killing Jar keeps you guessing and is ultimately very satisfying. It feels like a very well-written stage play. It deserves your attention, especially if you like character-driven suspense films.

Surprisingly good

[wesperkins · 7/10 · 12 March 2024]

If you are like me, I will scroll through the free movies and then come to the reviews and see whether they are worth watching. I don't go by the score alone, I will check out the reviews as well. This one had a decent score and reviews, so I watched it. It did not disappoint. It was very entertaining and pretty well acted, although maybe a bit over the top at times. You will recognize most actors byou their face, even if you can't remember their names. The script draws you in and you will want to watch it to the end to see what happens. It's entertaining and keeps you guessing. The negatives include a lot of blood, so not foelr the squeamish or kids. I also didn't like how inept they made the police officer, as I doubt any police officer would act like that, and not sure what the point of 2 of the characters was. (Trying to keep this spoiler free)After the first five minutes, they barely have any lines. It's almost like they won a contest to be in a movie. The twist, was good, but not too hard to figure out if you thought logically. When I thought about the big question about half way thru, it could really only be one person.

So in summary, If you come across this movie and you are debating watching it, Give it a watch. You won't regret it, in my opinion. It's much better than many of the other free movies out there.

Bullet hole with your coffee, sir?

[TheHrunting · 4/10 · 1 July 2011]

"The Killing Jar": the "jar" being a small town diner and the "killing" being people trapped inside with their fate up to a gunman. This begins by familiarizing the audience with these simple town folk just out for a late night bite at their favorite greasy eatery with jukebox, stifling heat and cheap prices. After hearing a radio broadcast about four murders of a husband, wife and their two children, the patrons--couple, waitress, deputy, cook, truck driver and passer through--speak their disgust but go about their business and shoot the breeze.

You get the hardened boss (Danny Trejo), who's overshot vocal tone and miscued body language indicate he quickly filmed some scenes at different times than who he's interacting with. The young couple aimlessly use a video camera and talk about idle dreams. The most natural and credible performance is by the passer through (Harold Perrineau), who is a salesman that just wants to get back home but he'll need a strong cup of brew. The truck driver and deputy keep it familiar as if this is the same routine. A Rockabilly type (Michael Madsen) eventually enters. He's demanding and acts suspicious, which upsets the waitress and causes the deputy to get into a threatening confrontation, which sends Madsen's character over the edge. He can go from spaced-out, henchmen-confident to sympathetic and unsure but not always clenching the transition in between to make it all credible. The moment he storms back in with a shotgun, you lean forward in your seat for hopefully the real start of the adventure.

The rest tries to maintain an intrigue and build up to a twist ending, though apart from a few abrupt and bloody deaths it feels like one giant tedious string along without a major purpose or relatable reward, with the exception of the simple but capable waitress being offered the opportunity and courage to get out of the rut she's at in the restaurant and in her life. However, with everything padded and piled around her to equally get coverage of everybody else, she's not consistently at the focal point of attention to realize this till the latter portion. The gunman kills for no apparent reason other than being provoked. All of a sudden he gains some kind of higher righteousness and uses a skill-set from a past profession to interrogate the patrons and a revelation comes out about the news report involving the murdered family.

On paper this reads like a good idea to produce a low budget movie concentrated on story and characters than one-liners, extravagant sets and location changes. But since the film is so claustrophobic, the flow, character interaction and direction tried to continually throw off the cinemaphile who studies all the details and tries to figure out the puzzle beforehand, though it did the opposite as it didn't fluidly come together to put the audience in the direct moment or believably rationalize with their motivations enough to wholly care that this could actually happen where innocents are being killed in this far away place. It shows how much some filmmakers are willing to go to guard their secret twist, even at the expense of the rest of the picture. It also didn't help that they tried to clash quirkiness and sarcasm amongst sentimental moments, such as Jake Busey's character looking laughably tacky with a weaselly grin mixed with pseudo introspective shots that pan around the diner possibly to throw the scent off. "The Killing Jar" had the right ideas going in, just some of the wrong execution as the flow came in and out in waves. (Also submitted on http://fromblacktoredfilmreviews.blogspot.com/)

It's okay, I guess

[Wizard-8 · 24 May 2011]

Any movie that boasts amongst its actors Michael Madsen, Danny Trejo, and Jake Busey definitely gets some points of merit even before the movie starts rolling. Though those points aren't as much as you might think, because Trejo's part is small and very insignificant, and Busey's role isn't that much better. I also had some other problems with the movie. The photography is pretty bad, with dark and muddy colors throughout. Also, the movie takes a LONG time to get going - more than a third of the movie goes by, to be more exact. Still, I will admit that once the movie gets going, the rest of the movie is fairly compelling - though I had a good idea of how the movie was going to end some time before that ending actually played out. So there aren't exactly any surprises to be found in this movie. However, I will admit that I have seen far worse direct-to-DVD movies.