Kaboom (2010)

Directed by: Gregg Araki | 86 minutes | comedy, science fiction | Actors: Haley Bennett, Juno Temple, Thomas Dekker, Chris Zylka, James Duval, Andy Fischer-Price, Brandy Futch, Nicole LaLiberte, Natalie Alyn Lind, Kelly Lynch, Brennan Mejia, Carlo Mendez, Roxane Mesquida, Christine Nguyen, Jason Olive

The function of dreams? The scientists are not yet sure. Are they messages that your subconscious passes on to you, do they have a predictive effect or are they just, like Stella, one of the characters from ‘Kaboom’, claims ‘the toilet of your mind’ (loosely translated) and do they only have the task to process your experiences from the day before? ‘Kaboom’ begins with an intriguing dream of Smith, the main character. In the dream he has the feeling that something terrible is about to happen. Couple this with the title of the film and you probably already have an idea of ​​where Gregg Araki’s (“Mysterious Skin”) movie is headed.

Smith is a film science student, has wanted to study all his life, but feels that it is the same as studying an animal that is on the brink of extinction. He is eighteen, has his birthday in the film, and is still searching the world. He is not yet sure whether he likes men, women or both. Currently, he has the hots for his roommate Thor, who seems to have been born to be on the surfboard. Thor does, however, do it with girls, often, but his attempts to blow himself, his obsession with his collection of colored slippers and his excessive attention to his (obviously perfect) body make Smith think he has a chance. At a party, where his best (and lesbian) friend Stella finally gets along with the beautiful Lorelei, things accelerate. Firstly, Smith makes eye contact with an attractive boy (who later disappears from his field of vision), secondly he appears to have seen both Lorelei and the girl who vomits his shoes in that earlier dream, he (accidentally) eats a biscuit with hallucinatory effect and meet London, a bold, likeable girl who has no qualms about ‘do you want to fuck?’ in the first five sentences of a conversation (twice in the movie!). After sex, London wiggles him out of bed and Smith finds himself in a park. There he suddenly stands next to the red-haired girl who left her stomach contents on his shoes earlier that evening, but she no longer recognizes him. In the terrifying moment that follows, Smith sees three men wearing animal masks murder the girl. The rest of the film revolves around Smith trying to figure out whether it was a dream or reality, his sexual adventures and Stella’s arduous efforts to get rid of the obsessive Lorelei.

‘Kaboom’ offers you a seductive and flowery mix of funny dialogues, beautifully framed shots where the actors seem to be talking to the viewer, ominous ‘end of time’ prophecies, witchcraft, cult-like practices and an impressive young cast, especially Juno Temple (as London) and Thomas Dekker (as Smith) stay with you. It’s not innovative at all, with ‘Kaboom’ Gregg Araki seems to have put a combination of David Lynch, Richard Kelly, Roger Avary (‘The Rules of Attraction’) and Gregg Araki to work. The masked bringers of mischief and the eerie, apocalyptic atmosphere are very reminiscent of ‘Donnie Darko’ and ‘Southland Tales’, the bizarre, inexplicable events of ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Mulholland Drive’ and the many sex between attractive students of Avary’s film adaptation from the Brett Easton Ellis bestseller.

Araki sets up quite a few storylines, builds up the secrecy considerably, but makes ends meet in the last ten minutes at a very fast pace, in a way that gets the blood out of your fingernails. And the good thing is that he still gets away with it. The director gives his audience a big middle finger as if to say he doesn’t care whether or not you’ve sat through the film with a satisfying feeling. So much confidence pays off. ‘Kaboom’ is a very entertaining film that consists of only beautiful or at least intriguing pictures. With this successor to ‘Smiley Face’ (2007), Arraki has now also added a brilliant film to his palmares or a mixed bag? The scientists are not yet sure. But he deserves the benefit of the doubt.