X
- 2020
- Not Rated
- RLJE Films
- 1 h 32 m
- 2020
- Not Rated
- RLJE Films
- 1 h 32 m
Summary A typical night for a group of war veterans at the local VFW turns into an all-out battle for survival when a teenage girl runs into the bar with a bag of stolen drugs. Suddenly under attack from a gang of punk mutants looking to get back what’s theirs – at any cost – the vets use every weapon they can put together to protect the girl, a...
Directed By: Joe Begos
Written By: Max Brallier, Matthew McArdle
- 2020
- Not Rated
- RLJE Films
- 1 h 32 m
- 2020
- Not Rated
- RLJE Films
- 1 h 32 m
VFW
72
5.1
Where to Watch
Summary A typical night for a group of war veterans at the local VFW turns into an all-out battle for survival when a teenage girl runs into the bar with a bag of stolen drugs. Suddenly under attack from a gang of punk mutants looking to get back what’s theirs – at any cost – the vets use every weapon they can put together to protect the girl, a...
Directed By: Joe Begos
Written By: Max Brallier, Matthew McArdle
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
72
90% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
72
90% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
10% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
When you get old and crotchety, you say things like, “They don’t make ’em like that anymore.” For the most part, “they” don’t. Then you see VFW and realize it’s not a nostalgia thing. It’s genuinely not done this way anymore. Thank you Joe Begos for reminding us how it should be.
An unrelenting throwback to a gleefully caustic view of America's capacity for untrammeled nastiness.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 User Ratings
5.1
32% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
36% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
32% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 22 User Ratings
5.1
32% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
36% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
32% Negative
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
Really fun movie without a lot of pretense. It's a bunch of old guys kicking ass in a "throwback" grindhouse style movie. It is nice to see some old time B list actors and even George Wendt getting to show their chops.
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McArdle and Brallier have thus rendered VFW an efficient us versus them scenario with Fred’s crew possessing an infectious, three-dimensional rapport opposite Boz and cronies leaning into their one-track yearning for a fix. Begos then brings the grainy and gritty aesthetic its predecessors possessed to really deliver a throwback vibe augmented solely by new advancements in violently realistic gore.
VFW ultimately lacks the cinematic flair to be truly memorable. But the pic succeeds on its own terms of being a nostalgic throwback to the days when such B-movies routinely opened on double and triple bills in urban grindhouses.
Essentially a geezers-fight-back siege movie (Tom Williamson plays the sole young veteran), VFW is riotously scuzzy and warmly partial to its rusty heroes.
Unlike Bliss, which has a cogent intention pushing it forward, VFW plays slapdash, which admittedly fits the film’s grimy aesthetic, a delirious theme park ride. Maybe that’s all a horror movie needs to be to be worth watching, but Begos can do more than douse a set with viscera, even if VFW doesn’t need “more” to justify itself.
They made a promise, with their cool trailer, that their dull, bloody movie couldn’t keep.
If I'm not mistaken, 'Fangoria' is the name of a horror/special effects magazine; apparently they helped produce 'VFW'. Anyway, that should give you an idea of what to expect. Also, be aware that 'VFW' is a cell phone film (movies that look like they're shot and produced with cell phones + selfie sticks and/or look better on a cell phone); just in case you have an aversion to certain types of cinematography. I'm sure everyone involved with the movie, if confronted about the overt politicism of the film, will say it's just an action flick, but the movie certainly espouses a right wing conservatist view of homelessness and unemployment; I had to bring that up because it's practically all the main characters talk about. The area the film seems to be set in is LA, and it's very sad that the lack of jobs, affordable housing, and social services has lead to one of the world's largest populations of the homeless. However, for 'VFW', which appears to be set in LA's future, poverty is caused by "the opioid crisis" - I guess math and figuring the cost of using drugs wasn't the film writer(s)(')(s)(') strong point. After that's set up, the movie turns into one of those FPS single scene shooter games where the object is to kill as many "druggies" as possible. Blech! Doesn't seem like Hollywood can go much lower or hit further below the belt. Because of all of the right wing preachy justification of violence, the movie's violent scenes are, well, like watching a bad case of child abuse. Well, guess that ought to help define what kind of audience might find the movie to be even slightly tolerable.
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Awards
Brooklyn Horror Film Festival
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Fright Meter Awards
• 1 Nomination
