Assassination Nation (2018)

Director: Sam Levinson
Stars: Odessa Young, Abra, Suki Waterhouse
Runtime: 108 minutes

Synopsis: After a malicious data hack exposes the secrets of the perpetually American town of Salem, chaos descends and four girls must fight to survive while coping with the hack themselves.

Verdict: Well, that was… intense.

If you know me, you probably know how much I enjoy HBO’s “Euphoria”. And with “Malcolm & Marie” getting a release soon, I found the timing to be perfect to check out Sam Levinson’s “Assassination Nation”, a movie I somehow missed a couple of years ago. What I certainly wasn’t expecting was for it to be a mix between Gaspar Noé’s “Climax” and “The Purge”.

Uncoincidentally set in the town of Salem (known for its historical witch trials in the late 1600s), the film is a high-energy, uncomfortable, and gory ride into a few days of madness in which a hacker releases many residents’ personal information to the public. Hysteria settles and the true face of the America of today is exposed. “Assassination Nation” is an exaggerated dark comedy that is maybe too ambitious for its own good, but that still succeeds in getting its commentary on the dangers of the internet and the lack of empathy that plagues today’s generation as well as the division and violence that has been on the rise in America’s streets recently.

The lack of traditional narrative may turn off many viewers, but I was both entertained and enthralled by Levinson’s approach in telling that particular story. It’s not perfect or even unique by any means, but it’s the type of movie that will stick with you no matter how you feel about it and I’m overall glad I gave it a shot.

FINAL GRADE: 7/10