Well, I have accepted that we need silly movies. We also need the ones that make us cringe in our seats and wonder what the hell is going on and if you’re going to arrested for just watching this. Rondo definitely falls in the later category. As weird as it may get, the storytelling is pretty much linear. There are no weird angles. The camera pretty much stays in place. And yet, you feel something’s about to happen any moment.

rondo

Rondo feels like a weird exploitation film filmed for a porn site. Yeah, you won’t understand that description until you see it. Director Drew Barnhardt brings us the story of Paul (Luke Sorge), a war veteran going through a rough time. He’s crashing at the house of his sister Jill (Brenna Otts) who wants him to stop drinking. She recommends a therapist. The therapist does not advise him to stop drinking. Instead, she gives Paul an address and a password and things will spiral from there.

This is where I hit a hurdle and walk into possible spoiler-ish territory. You want to know what to expect, but I can’t tell you that since the movie is supposed to work with you not knowing what’s coming. Paul is going to enter what promises to be alluring and enticing but becomes bloody and violent. Once the cat’s out of the bag, the plot shifts into what essentially becomes a revenge story with a lot of exploitation undertones. This movie is another reason why revenge was my trend this year.

Lightly recommended for the crowd who loves weird and unusual. The first act works better since it makes you cringe thinking you’re not sure what kind of movie you’re watching. Once in the second act, you can start guessing how the third act is going to go. It doesn’t go full hog into WTF territory. Think Brian De Palma surreal but short of David Lynch. Once it gets weird, it doesn’t go further but it will go out with a bang.

That will do for now.