I was never one to wish ill on my parentals. They’re good people, and deserve the best. But there are those other families out there that are way more dysfunctional than the word “dysfunctional” covers. Kids and parents fight, it’s a law of nature, and it can get most ugly. But how far would you go to find a more extreme solution when the fights or abuse never ends, and you are left feeling without the more traditional options?
Enter director Jay Lowi’s Extracurricular Activities, set for VOD and Blu-Ray release June 4th. This dark comic thriller is written by Bob Sáenz and features Colin Ford (Under the Dome,) Ellie Bamber (Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Nocturnal Animals,) and Danielle McDonald (Netflix’s Dumplin’,) along with comedy heavyweights like Bobby Lee, Angela Kinsey, Arden Myrin and Vicki Lewis. From the press release:
“In the dark comedy-thriller, EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, Reagan is a model high school student with a ‘killer’ after school job. When the parents of his classmates become too overbearing, self-obsessed – or just plain inconvenient – he offers to get rid of them for a price by setting up a series of ‘accidents.’ But when seasoned police detective Cliff Dawkins starts putting the pieces together, it¹s a battle of wits to see if Reagan can keep business booming while the rising body count brings Cliff closer to the truth.”
It is with a heavy heart that I feel like I am aging out of a lot of your typical high school tales, so I will be honest that with such an innocuous title I probably would have opted out of watching this hidden gem should it have passed by my eyes on the streaming platforms of my choice. If that had been the case and I never would have seen this film, I would have missed out on a tight, crisp and witty dark comedy that left me tickled and effectively satisfied. It’s witty, it’s smart and the production value is fantastic for so quiet of a release this film has been given. Colin Ford’s Reagan is the love child of Ferris Bueller and Patrick Bateman, a brilliant high school kid who has found a niche market to die for when it comes to after-school jobs. You get a few stereotypical classmates involved to be honest, but their stories’ outcomes are enough to make up for their short time onscreen.
You are sucked into the angle of Reagan’s narrative in Extracurricular Activities, rooting for this ‘accident coordinator’ and not who traditional society would herald as the hero, that of the inflicted and obsessive detective Cliff Dawkins played by Timothy Simons. He’s thwarted again and again, eventually sending him into psychosis when it comes to Reagan and his dirty deeds. Lowi and Sáenz effectively admonish and demoralize the character, focusing on his lack of attention to his home life and his tensions at work to make you leave laughing and shaking your head at his attempts to find the truth. He is portrayed as insufferable by his peers, unavailable by his family and otherwise crazy by anyone else he encounters. A tragic hero, but tragic in the way you roll your eyes and don’t want him to win but rather can’t wait for him to get dealt with.
This film is a perfect way to start off your summer break, celebrate graduating high school or even just enjoying on an air-conditioned, rainy afternoon. Funny and gruesome, you can’t help but want to sign up for Extracurricular Activities.
Extracurricular Activities will be available on VOD and Blu Ray June 4th. Follow the film on Facebook at The Official Extracurricular Activities Movie Page or Instagram at @Extracurricularmovie and if you do swipe it up, please use the hashtag #extracurricularmovie to let them know! Have a look at the trailer below.</span
