VFW (2019) Review. An insane trip of violence and nostalgia.
Even if you haven’t fallen in love with the short career of Joe Begos, there’s no denying the interesting product he makes, and his valid contribution to current genre cinema. I know I’m not the one best fit to comment on what he has done. I simply don’t connect with his stories and his style, as massively original as it is, is not enough. That is until we get to VFW.
His method is curiously different in VFW, a film I definitely took my time to see and appreciate. VFW is an experiment that shows the confidence of a director that needs better stories to tell. He already has the backbone of an original genre approach, and he stands in the industry as a worthy indie filmmaker that just knows how to produce great content. Begos puts this aside and encapsulates himself in a very small film about friendship values and a primal survival sense, exploited through a horrific situation. This is not a very serious film but strangely, it feels like step towards narrative maturity for Begos.
VFW tells the story of a complicated future (not dystopian but rotten). Americans have become fascinate with a new synthetic drug and the mastermind behind its distribution is a wicked man. He ignites the movie when he throws a little of the drug off a balcony, and incites an addict to throw herself to get the drug. When the dead girl’s sister finds out, she takes a massive amount of the drug and runs off.
There’s not better destination than a bar. Specifically, a bar where old dudes hang out. They’re a group of cranky veterans that have nothing better to do than reminisce about war and the fellowship that they still preserve. Just when the girl walks into the bar, mayhem begins. She hides the loot inside, and this group of ex-soldiers will take the matter into their own hands when a zombie-like addict attacks one of their own. The quiet night turns into a battle in which this obsolete platoon will have to defend any way they can.
VFW is a thrilling and gory ride of horror and chaos. But curiously Begos dedicates the first half hour of the movie to his ensemble of burned out soldiers and just lets them do their thing while the surprising “monster” is formed in parallel. VFW reminded me of From Dust till Dawn and its first hour of Tarantino-esque twists and turns that made the vampire film a delight. It’s purely coincidental that this movie includes Fred Williamson, who also appears in From Dusk till Dawn. Begos does a fine job of forming a team of heroes with veterans of the industry. Stephen Lang, William Sadler, Martin Kove, David Patrick Kelly and George Wendt, are the ones that have to defend their haven from a swarm of ultra-violent monsters that will stop at nothing to get their fix.
Begos is a young master of violent cinema and he delivers plenty of that. Nevertheless, VFW is also a conversation between old heroes that’s so valuable, one wonders if there is a more extended cut of VFW’s first act. Sadler is a wonderful addition to the movie; his scenes are golden.
I had a blast. Like I never had with Begos’ past films. Sure, the presence of veteran actors helps. But this is the result of a great vision of a director we need to go mainstream.
