Axed (2013)

Strong and Moving!

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

So says one part of the closing credits for AXED. If you read carefully, you will note that this disclaimer does NOT say one way or the other if any fully functioning brains were harmed making the movie, let alone later as the paying public began to watch this sorry excuse for a horror flick. I mean, how can anyone root for the chick to take her top off, when such an occurrence would be tantamount to incest? Not that the cringe-inducing family sex issue is totally avoided here, as the daughter penetrates her dad with chortles of orgiastic ecstasy (by means of a kitchen knife to the belly), just because he killed her boyfriend (or, maybe it's because he killed her mom and her mom's lover?). At any rate, this British offering is SO low-budget it begins to run out of potential victims about halfway through, necessitating the offing of some characters two or three times each. Jonathan Hansler as down-sized (by wife's lover) dad Kurt Wendell is more convincing in psycho mode than loving dad mood. Plus, the opening snippets of radio news readers announcing world-wide financial Armageddon is mere clutter, as it has nothing to do with the actual plot (contradicting it, if anything). All in all, the title is about the only thing clever about this movie. SPOILER: Seemingly working cell phones are boiled, axed, and stomped on throughout this film--prompting the disclaimer--but even the hot daughter does NOT have an iPhone!

this film deals with a subject that make headlines every week sadly.but here it is dealt with darkly black humour.johnathon hansler does a great job as the head of the wendell family. a man who succumbs to the pressures of modern life after losing his job.he takes his family on what they think is an ideal weekend in the country. once there he begins his reign of terror upon his loved ones . the violent scenes could have been a bit more gory which would have added more humour to a grim situation.overall i enjoyed this film and the negative comments don't add up. what do you expect from a film called axed?the director shows real potential and i look forward to more films from him.

I'd read reviews about this film and was intrigued by the conflicting opinions so I had to watch it and find out for myself, being English I love films with a British feel to them. I was majorly disappointed.The plot is thin, the acting is...OK, the character flaws are too many to mention, the filming is mediocre, the script is completely benign.Firstly the plot is intriguing and potentially a good basis for a psychological thriller and drama. This is completely wiped away by the sheer lack of believability of some of the events as the film unfolds.After his first kill, no-one tries to get away or get help. This continues throughout the film, and it's annoying to the point of being ridiculous. No human being would sit and watch someone murdering their mother and then go and sit down for dinner. RIDICULOUS.Furthermore, an iron gardening fork through the foot/ankle and he takes it out and walks (with a bit of a limp), carrying an axe with arm that's connected directly to the chest muscles he got stabbed 3 times in just minutes before.He harps on about this big project going according to plan, to kill everyone and himself by 6am, and then has a monologue about how he wants to see his daughter get married. Before stabbing her.And the stereotypical gay son/abusive father dynamic could have been utilized so much more in this. It was pretty much just an abusive bloke with a wimpy son by the end. They had multiple chances to kill him, but didn't. Didn't even taunt him or get angry with him. They also had MANY chances to flee. And in what looked to be about 15 acres of forest, they finally run away, and daddy finds them in about 5 seconds flat.Utter drivel. The gore wasn't even realistic or satisfyingly gruesome. Neither was the ending. Oh, and *SPOILER ALERT* one last thing. Four pills (count them) in the bowl, he takes five out one at a time and pops them.Only genuine reason for following this all the way through to the end was to see Christopher Rithin put on a good performance.Complete waste of time. Don't bother with it.

Saw this at this year's Bram Stoker Film Festival where it played to a very receptive audience of horror movie fans and picked up the award for Best Screenplay. Works well as a disturbing psycho-drama based around a man who loses his job and then his mind, much to the increasing horror of his family.A great music score and moody cinematography helps to build the atmosphere.Jonathan Hansler is the true star of the show here, obviously relishing the dark humour of his part as the dejected father with one last project to manage up his sleeve. Well it's certainly one way to downsize!