The Good

A gem of a movie gets a solid release on DVD.

The Bad

Nobody knows about this film.The Vicious Kind isn't a perfect film. However, what made me interested in the first place is that this film, which was written and directed by Lee Toland Krieger, is executive produced by Neil LaBute.

Yes, that Neil LaBute. Anybody that makes In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbors deserves some attention, and the fact that he has executive produced this movie means that if you liked those other movies than you should see it.

The story of The Vicious Kind ne of family. Caleb (Adam Scott) is a pissed off, angry, very combustible sort who is on the outs with his father (who is also pissed off, angry, and combustible). So when his younger brother comes to town with his hot new girlfriend, all of the old wounds and feelings come to the surface. Things keep going from bad to worse with Caleb starting a relationship with his brother's girlfriend which essentially begins with said girlfriend punching him in the nose.

The Vicious Kind wraps things up in the end but nothing is neat, nothing is clean, and, for the Sinclaire family, nothing is ever easy.

Features

Commentary Tracks

There are two commentary tracks on this release. One is with the director and Adam Scott. The other is simply with the director. I went with the commentary that featured the duo because I think Adam Scott is quite funny. (He is easily the best part of Step Brothers so I was excited to see how he would be here.) All in all he let his sense of humor run on the dry side, and Krieger was smart enough to get out of his way. They talked about making this movie, working with the cast, shooting certain awkward scenes (the first hotel room sex scene with the camera), and just about anything else that people who liked this movie will care about.

Behind-the-Scenes and Deleted & Extended Scenes

Video

Theatrical 2.35:1 Aspect Ration. Enhanced for 16x9 TVs. This movie looked solid on standard DVD. The film is shot amidst a lot of trees and other such rich scenery and all of that plays into giving this film a feeling of time and place. I didn't notice any points in the transfer process where any portion of the screen got pixilated or overly baked. This film has richness about it, a sense of place, and this all plays out very nicely on this release.

Audio

Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround. Language: English. Subtitles: Spanish, English for the hearing impaired. The audio on this release was good but there wasn't anything that was that spectacular about it. I am starting to really not like the soundtracks to indy films. They are starting to only be wimpy guitar playing and soft vocals... or bands from cities trying to be country. Now, I like this kind of music but I really wish that the people in charge of music on these films would change things up a bit.

Package

The cover of this DVD contains 4 images from this movie and a shot of nails going into wood. The back features four more cast images and shot of the forrest (there's the wood motif again). There is a nicely written description of this film, a cast list, special features and technical specs.

Final Word

The Vicious Kind is really well made film. I heard about it when it was first coming out and I am glad that DVD is has leveled the playing field so that I didn't miss it. I would certainly say to screen this film... but I am actually adding the DVD to my collection.