Bullet Points: Kill Mode

I can appreciate someone trying to make a low budget sci-fi film in the way that director Thijs Meuwese and his people have done. The title and the poster got me on board and while I hadn’t heard a peep about the film, that wasn’t a deal breaker since it came from the Netherlands and I’m not the most tapped-in person to that region of the world. If I had a rich uncle who suddenly died, leaving me with loads of money, I’d most certainly dump it into something like this. Until then, I’ll have to just try Kill Mode out and see what I can get.

Synopsis: In a gritty near future, an ex freedom fighter reluctantly jumps back into the fold after discovering a disturbing secret that could bring down the company that owns the world.

• The near future: In just a few short years from now, a crazy sickness hits the population and over 30 million people end up dead as dogs. A big-time Pharma group called “The Company” shows up with a treatment plan that keeps people alive but also banks them a serious amount of money. That’s part of the pharmaceutical business, I guess. I would only hope that I got in on that stock early but it’s clear that a company making that much money while people are dying left and right isn’t going to sit well with most people.
• The Rebel Alliance: There are a few Star Wars references throughout the film but seeing the non-Company members as a knockoff Rebel Alliance is the easiest one. David (played by Dave Mantel) ends up as the main character. Along with a little girl named Molly (Julia Batelaan), the two of them end up fighting back against an alleged conspiracy that is propagated by The Company.

• Action-packed: This film definitely made it a point to ramp up the action. There are very few instances of low-budget films that do something that Kill Mode has done here. They give us a pretty simple story, introduce a handful of characters, and then let them get to killing and beating the crap out of each other.
• Every rose has its thorn: While Kill Mode has plenty of action to get your eyes glued to the screen, it never really grabbed my attention the way that I hoped it would. It’s a good problem to have for a movie that I had never heard of and that probably didn’t cost that much to make, but it’s still a problem, nonetheless. The story is so-so and the characters aren’t really that interesting so when the action did take its breaks, so did I.

• Thanks Joss: Kill Mode takes quite a few cues from Joss Whedon’s Firefly. David and the rebel crew are very much the guys and gals from The Firefly and young Molly ends up growing up as and almost exact replica of Summer Glau’s character. I didn’t have anything negative to say about the actors involved but I don’t think the pacing of the film did them any favors. Every time I got to learn about David or hear the tech guy speak to someone I enjoyed it. I even wanted more of the story they brought to the table. Did The Company start this for the money? I guess we’ll never know…
• The Action: Okay, having said all of that, the stunt crew really deserves a standing ovation for this one. I’ve said that the story and characters needed more developing but at the same time I’m gonna tell you that the action was really great! The exosuits looked a little ridiculous and some of the fights lasted WAY TOO LONG but you can’t complain too much when you’re enjoying it the way I did.

The Verdict: I didn’t like the color grading and I would have made a few decisions differently but I think Kill Mode is a big success when it comes to low-budget sci-fi/action. It has really good action scenes that allow all of the characters to give their best. There are also some really good dialogue scenes but they stop about halfway through the film and are essentially abandoned for the remainder. Hell, the story is mostly abandoned once the bullets start to fly. The villains weren’t exactly as evil as they should have been but everyone bleeds when you punch them in the face with a cybernetic rifle-fist. Give it a shot.