From National Lampoons Animal House to Sorority Row fraternity and sorority houses have been the setting for countless movies. These American University organisations have inspired many filmmakers to explore the world of initiation rituals, house rivalries, secret societies and general debauchery that exists within the walls of the Greek letter organisations. The latest film to join the ranks is the debut feature from Will Canon,
Brotherhood, released on
DVD today. Written by Canon and Doug Simon, the film is an adaption of Canons own short film Roslyn following the events of a disastrous night of fraternity pranks gone wrong. Adam Buckley, played by
Trevor Morgan (probably best known as the kid from Jurassic Park III), is a young student looking to join the Sigma Zeta Chi college fraternity. Before he can be accepted, Adam and the other pledges must each undergo an initiation which involves them, in turn, committing an armed robbery at a series of convenience stores. When one young student is involved in an altercation ending in a fire-fight, the group take desperate steps to cover their tracks and avoid the involvement of the police. With a student slowly bleeding to death and a store clerk held hostage their situation worsens with each bad decision. As the hours pass, their evening spirals out of control towards a devastating conclusion. Opening at a frantic pace that never really lets up over the brisk 76 minute running time, the film drops the audience straight into the action, beginning with the disorientating initiation in the back of a speeding van as it takes the students to the robberies. As a consequence very little time is spent establishing and developing characters which left me feeling very little attachment to any of them.
The characterisations follow the general frat house stereotypes with the square-jawed alpha male fraternity leader Frank, played by
Jon Foster, attempting to take control of the situation while the younger pledge Adam searches for the opportunity to do the right thing. Their dynamic leads to the majority of the conflict with the other members of the group taking sides as each decision is made. Almost all the dialogue in the film is shouted by the unlikeable, fast talking students who, it seems, cannot express anger or desperation without constantly swearing at each other. Each character exchange just becomes repetitive and unrealistic, with each one sounding like a bad Tarantino knock off. Having said that there is an obvious Tarantino influence to the film, the whole heist gone wrong scenario with a member of the group bleeding to death and a tortured hostage is lifted straight from Reservoir Dogs. The main difference being that Tarantino did not let his narrative unfold at the expense of any character development.
The lack of humour in the film is also a major negative. It just takes itself way too seriously. A number of films have followed a similar plotline of a night going terribly wrong but they have done it with an element of black comedy, Very Bad Things springs to mind. The constant straight-faced analysis of the groups situation just becomes tiresome and leads to a bland, disappointing conclusion. On the plus side the film never drags, from the initial adrenaline fuelled robberies to the developing mayhem back at the frat house, the film rarely pauses for breath. While it can be predictable in places there is still room for a few surprises and interesting twists. For a debut film it certainly shows promise, Canon just needs to pay a little more attention to character in future.
Quality
The films low-budget roots are evident in this DVD presentation. The grainy, hand-held visuals are presented in a widescreen ratio of 2.35:1 that never looks too polished but enhances the urgency of the film. For a film that takes place mostly at night there are never any issues of any scenes being too dark.
Extras
The extra that stood out for me was the inclusion of the original short film Roslyn that inspired the opening scenes of the main feature. Very low budget and shot on 16mm, Roslyn shows how Brotherhood developed from an inspired student film into a full length feature film. It is interesting to see how little was changed from the original film for the opening sequence of the feature; even the amateur actors are no worse in their roles. Also on the disc is a very short Making of documentary which offers little in the way of substance, just a few on set interviews and some behind the scenes footage, the original trailer and a photo gallery are also included. In addition there is a directors audio commentary which talks through the process of making the film from beginning to end. Will Canon is certainly enthusiastic about his film and manages to keep going throughout the talk track without any awkward pauses. It could also prove an interesting listen to any budding student filmmakers out there looking to break into feature films. Brotherhood is available on
DVD from today.