Maybe it says something to me that it felt like I very much needed a film that felt as brutal as this one (and that’s a discussion I should probably have with a therapist or something). But this was a film that I felt like I needed.

The film is fairly simple, and because of that, it can really divulge itself in the grimey Peckinpah violence. Prior to seeing the film, the word was that it was clearly inspired by his style and after seeing the film, I can very much see the similarities.

For The Sake of Vicious follows Romina (Lora Burke) coming home from the hospital she works at to find an unconcious Alan (Colin Paradine) on the floor, and she also finds Chris (Nick Smyth) hiding in her kitchen. These are the opening four minutes of the film.

During the first half of the film, we slowly get to understand some of the backstory that brought all three of these characters in Romina’s unfortunate home. And then the gear switches in the second half as Romina and Chris have to deal with wave after wave of intruders trying to attack the inhabitants of the house. This is where the film truly excels, in its stunt choreography, which were all done with skilled stunt performers. And the cast performing all their own stunts.

Out of all the films I’ve seen at the film festival, For The Sake of Vicious has some of my favourite fights, and special practical effects. The two men behind the film Gabriel Carrer and Reese Eveneshen allow every hit to be felt, and then some. Together, they wrote, directed, edited and and also composed the film. And they deserve the praise that is going to come their way once the film is released. The score is great, and the editing to sometimes hide the impact, but still allow for the audience to feel every hit (and there’s a whole lot).

There’s a lot to say the experience that Fantasia has been from the comfort of my own home and living room. And the truth is, watching For The Sake of Vicious is a film that would brought a great energy in a theatre with friends, or strangers. I haven’t been to Fantasia yet, but I’ve attended TIFF and Midnight Madness at TIFF multiple times, and this is the film that may not have been accepted, but would cause a lot of huge cheers and reactions.

We miss theatres, and if you get the chance to see this film inside one, come back and tell me how it is because I’m jealous.