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VIFF 2025 Review: The Plague

27 October 202526 October 2025Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Thirteen year-old Ben, played by Everett Blunck, is preoccupied by an odd teammate’s skin condition in *The Plague*.

A film like The Plague is one of those films that sounds ideal to watch on a Saturday night at the Rio. Let’s just say it delivers on the crazy stuff you’d expect from a film in the Altered States series, and more.

It’s 2003 and Ben is a 13-year old boy at a water polo camp for 12-13 year old boys from across the nation. They spend time training in the school pool coached by a coach nicknamed ‘Daddy Wags’ and sleeping in the same lodge. The boys all have the best and worst attributes of boys their age. They befriended one moment and taunted the next. Ben’s first encounter comes while talking to Jake who’s back for his second year. During dinner, Jake notices Ben’s speech impediment when he says ‘s’op’ instead of ‘stop.’ Ben soon gets the nickname ‘Soppy.’

Despite being called ‘Soppy,’ Ben is still one of the boys. They tease and they are teased back. Ben and the boys talk of the girls they fantasize over. Ben notices that Eli is the boy most singled out. Eli showers alone, changes alone, and eats alone. When it’s dinner on the first day at camp, the boys leave whatever table Eli sits at. Ben wonders why. The boys say it’s because Eli has ‘the plague.’ Eli has a noticeable rash on his arm and wears a long-sleeved shirt while training while the other boys wear simple trunks.

Ben doesn’t buy this talk of ‘the plague’ or its alleged contagion from the other boys. Ben dares to befriend Eli despite what the other boys say. Ben does notice a lot of ‘weird talk’ from Eli and it gets him thinking about him. Other incidents that get Ben thinking is when the boys have fun vandalizing an alley one night. One of the boys plays music and they all dance, but Eli does a super-bizarre dance to music that includes dancing with a poster of a cartoon character he calls ‘Boopie.’ Another time, Eli’s finger looks like it’s cut of, but it grows back in front of Ben. Ben is starting to get nervous about Eli.

Things soon get more heated. The water polo camp shares a pool with the 12-13 artistic swimming camp. The girls to their training after the boys are finished and all the boys are attracted to the girls. Including Ben being attracted to one swimmer with braces. One day, as the girls are warming up at the other end, Eli’s hormones let loose (to put it politely) and they all taunt Eli. Daddy Wags disciplines the boys about people’s feelings. Jake is the one that still gives a jerk attitude to the coach and doesn’t regret the teasing. Soon the boys start suspecting Ben has ‘the plague’ because of the time he spends with Eli and they notice a similar rash on him as Eli’s rash is growing.

Ben tries to run away from the camp and even calls his mother from a diner’s pay phone to try and pick him up. Daddy Wags finds him at the diner. They have a dinner together and Wags tells him about the teasing he endured when he was Ben’s age. Upon returning, Ben tries to make peace with Jake but Jake reveals to Ben that his mother died.

Very soon, the rash on Ben grows and that prompts more rumors from the boys. Especially from Jake. In a training scrimmage, Jake is mad Ben wasn’t fouled while he was. He starts a fistfight with Ben and that becomes the end of it. Jake is expelled from the camp. Despite Jake being gone, it’s clear from the looks of the other boys the torment won’t be over.

As the camps for both water sports end, Daddy Wags is holding an end-of-camp dance where the water polo boys can finally dance with the artistic swimming girls. Finally, Ben will have a chance with the girl he’s been interested since the start. At the dance, there’s not much dancing but they notice Eli doing his ‘freak dance’ from days ago. It’s when Eli again dances with the Boopie poster that Ben has had enough and has to give Eli a talk. Ben just let’s it out on Eli that his behavior will get him continuous ostracism. It gets so heated, Ben tears the Boopie poster. What happens after, I won’t give away the ending. I will say that what happens to Eli and Ben will convince you that ‘the plague’ is real!

Bizarre supernatural thrillers like these usually have some theme that’s a common reflection of daily life. This is a case of boys on the verge of puberty. I don’t miss being a 12- or 13- year old boy either. I was the mocked at times and the mocker other times. Acting like a jerk, talking tough, lewd talk, being mean to look like a big shot, I don’t miss being a young mouthy jerk. This film does make the nastiness of the middle school years it’s common theme. I’m sure those that watch this film, especially adult males, will remember the insecurities they themselves faced when they were that young. Looking back, it’s kind of understanding why it would make the ideal theme for a scenario as bizarre as this plague. A bizarre thing happening to one at the most vulnerable time in a person’s life..

Here we have a water polo camp for boys sharing a poll with the girls of the artistic swimming camp. Both camps have the same age ranges. At the end of the camp, there’s a farewell dance where the boys and girls can finally dance together. As for the story being a thriller, the toxic masculinity of middle school boys adds to the drama of this story. Does Eli really have a ‘plague’ that’s contagious? Or are the boys just being mean? You’re left to question. The drama gets even bigger when Ben gets the same rash. Is it really ‘the plague’ they’re talking about? What will happen to Ben? Will he be able to dance with the girl he fantasizes over? Or will he end up acting like a freak like Eli? Add that in to the story of the difficulties of being 12 or 13 and other boys being big shots. It does make one curious of how this story will end for either of them.

Mind you this story isn’t just showcasing the nastiness of middle school boys. It also showcases the fun with the recklessness of getting into mischief. It showcases the feelings of love and attractions to girls at that age. The desire to meet with the girl of Ben’s curiosity will remind you of the innocence of those days. Mix that in with the camera angles and the slow-motion filming as well as the mix of hit songs and original score, it gives a fun boost to the drama of the story.

This film is a great first feature-length film from writer/director Charlie Polinger. Based on his summer camp experience in 2003 when he was 12 and kept journals over, Polinger does a good job in mixing in the story of the anxiety of being a misfit among a group of 12-13 boys while fearing getting the ultimate in ostracism from the possible contagion. The characters of the boys will remind you of some middle school-aged boys you may have encountered in your own life. He does a very good job of showing the ugliness of boys being big shots at other boys’ expense while reminding us this is a thriller about something supernatural. It’s a story that’s mixed with scripted dialogue and improvisation. The addition of subtitles that are not always there and leaves some things out is an odd but unique addition to the story. A great achievement!

Holding the film together is the performance of young Everett Blunck. He handles a role involving a lot of young insecurities well and makes a story about something both bizarre and frightening compelling to watch. Joel Edgerton plays it low-key as the coach Daddy Wags. In playing the coach trying to guide the boys and keep order, he keeps it low but makes for a believable coach hiding his own insecurities.

The biggest scene-stealer of the film has to be Kayo Martin. His performance as Jake will remind you of the middle school boy that seems to be the stand-out of jerks or the ‘king jerk’ of all of them. We all have memories of that boy! At the same time, he is sympathetic. We all remember how middle school boys are bad at dealing with their feelings. It may explain why Jake acts like a jerk. Maybe Jake doesn’t know how to deal with the death of his mother. Kayo is very convincing. Kenny Rasmussen also stole scenes as Eli. He’s both sympathetic and frightening at the same time. You don’t know if he is the ‘odd boy’ (another middle-school boy type we have memories of) or if ‘the plague’ is the real thing. Despite being singled out as a freak, he will make you feel for him at the same time too. The cinematography from Steven Breckon mixes the fun, cruel and frightening environments very well and the mix of hit music and original composition from Johan Lenox helps with the film’s shifting moods from start to finish.

It’s interesting to note this film has won awards at film festivals. The film was nominated for Un Certain Regard at Cannes as well as Charlie Polinger nominated for the Golden Camera award. At the Deauville Film Fest, the film won two awards: for the Critics Prize and the Grand Special Prize. At the Calgary Film Festival, it won for Best International Feature in the narrative category.

The Plague will remind you of the ugly days of middle school and how you tried to prove you were all that or were mean to others. It also makes for a bizarre and intriguing thriller about something that turns out to be more than just a skin condition in the end.

DVD Review: Loving

9 August 20179 August 2017Jon The BlogcentricLeave a comment

DISCLAIMER: In the next while, you will see a lot of film reviews that have been delayed for the longest time. I’m passing them off as DVD reviews.

“Can’t you just go and speak to Judge Bazile? We ain’t hurting anybody.”

Loving was actually the very first film I saw in 2017. Pardon the delay of the review. It’s still worth reviewing as it is a unique film, and not just because of its subject matter.

Richard and Mildred Loving want to marry. It’s the right time; they’ve been dating for a long time she’s having a baby. Problem is Mildred is black and Richard is white and they live in Virginia where interracial marriage is forbidden by law. They travel to Washington, D.C. to marry, but it causes problems as the couple are raided by the police and told their marriage certificate is not valid.

The couple were tried in the court of law in Virginia and they plead guilty. They received a suspended sentence, but decided to move to Washington, D.C. Life in Washington doesn’t work out for them as the oldest of their three children was hit by a car. The child survives, but Mildred decides she prefers the calm life of the country and wants to move back to Virginia. Especially since their families are there. In addition, Mildred writes to Robert F. Kennedy of her situation. Kennedy sends her letter to the ACLU. Bernard Cohen, a lawyer associated with the ACLU, agrees to contest the marriage ruling in the state of Virginia, but is slapped by disapproval in the court based on Virginia’s constitutional law.

Mildred then has Cohen take the case to the Supreme Court of the United States. In 1967, the US Supreme Court overturned their convictions and ruled that the criminalizing of interracial marriages violates the Fourteenth Amendment. The Lovings could now live in Virginia without fear of threat and love each other peacefully.

This film is of a relevant topic. Interracial marriage is a topic that still develops some heated discussion in the United States today. Many countries like Canada, the UK and even France don’t see interracial love as much of a problem. However there are still a significant number of people in the United States that look down upon it. Even seeing how Richard’s mother was disapproving of the marriage and even telling Richard he ‘did a wrong thing’ really gets one thinking at first how someone, including many millions around the world, can think loving a person of a different race is ‘wrong.’ Even hearing how the courts of Virginia ruled that: “God created the continents to keep the races separate and that they don’t mix.” I thought that was bizarre that they thought that but the courts in the Commonwealth Of Virginia considered that to be the truth. Me, I’d demand they pull out the Bible and show me where marrying someone of another race is a sin. Which of the Ten Commandments did that violate?

I was anticipating the subject of race to be included in the film. I know the prime topic of interracial love would be the prime topic but I figured the topic of race would be present too,, especially since this is in Virginia. The topic of race was not focused too heavily. However there were some moments when the subject of race was present. Like the case when Richard was going for a beer with his brothers-in-law from Mildred’s side of the family. I remember one of them questioning “You think you’re black?’ That too had me thinking about the racial divide in the US that still hits today.

The most surprising thing about Loving is that it wasn’t as dramatic as one would expect it to be. In fact the film appeared less focused on the events and more focused on the people Richard and Mildred Loving. It focused on the two as a couple, but mostly on both Richard Loving and Mildred Loving as individuals. Richard was seen of having the personality of a man who’s both hard and sensitive at the same time, but fearful of what would happen. Possibly because he’s white and he knows about a lot of racism that he could be subject to hate and even violence for. Mildred, whose actually half-black and half-Native American, was seen as a person who was soft and smart, but always optimistic. She had that look on her like she had nothing to lose and whatever else to gain.

It first seems like an odd choice to be more focused on the people instead of the events. I often wondered too about why it was done so. Over time, I saw it as something that made sense. We should not forget that it was the Lovings’ love for each other that made this happen. Sure, history will record Richard and Mildred for making history for their interracial marriage, but they made history because of their love for each other. The feelings for each other are made very obvious to us as are their feelings towards the events in their lives. This angle of focus was a very good choice in making such a film. We more of a look at the couple that made history rather than the history they made.

I admire writer/director Jeff Nichols for using that angle in creating the story of the Lovings. It is a unique angle and keeps their story from coming off as a made-for-TV movie. The portrayals of the Lovings by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga were excellent and very telling of Richard and Mildred both as individuals and as a couple. The other actors in the film didn’t have such well-developed roles, but they did own the scenes when they had them, like Sharon Blackwood as Richard’s disapproving mother and Nick Kroll as Bernie Cohen the lawyer. The score from David Wingo didn’t occupy too much of the film, but its presence helped with the storytelling.

Loving is an excellent film that shows a focus to a story many know, but a focus overlooked. It’s also a film relevant now as interracial marriage is still a hot topic to many today.

Movie Review: Black Mass

29 December 2015Jon The Blogcentric1 Comment

Johnny Depp is unrecognizable as James 'Whitey' Bulger in Black Mass. — Johnny Depp is unrecognizable as James ‘Whitey’ Bulger in Black Mass.

DISCLAIMER: Okay, I know I’m late in reviewing a lot of movies, including this one. I’m hoping to do some catching up in this time. So please bear with me.

James ‘Whitey’ Bulger is a man of infamy. Black Mass is a movie that attempts to reveal what type of person Bulger was and how he was able to get away with what he did all this time.

It’s 1975. The streets of South Boston are ruled by James ‘Whitey’ Bulger and his Irish-American Winter Hill Gang with Stephen Flemmi as his right-hand man, Kevin Weeks as his rising rookie and Johnny Martorano as his merciless hitman. However it’s rivaled by the Angiullo brothers who have ties to the New England Mafia family.

In the middle of this, former FBI Agent John Connolly returns to Boston in hopes of stopping the Angiullo brothers and does the tricky task of trying to get Whitey’s help to do so. Besides Whitey and brother Billy Bulger, who’s the president of the Massachusetts State Senate, are childhood friends. At first, Whitey is reluctant to be an informant but agrees after one of his Winter Hill Gang members is gunned down.

No kidding having Whitey as an informant for an FBI agent is touchy stuff and it even causes suspicion from Connolly’s boss. However it becomes a case where Bulger is the one pulling Connolly’s strings as he uses Connolly’s ‘protection’ for covering his crimes. Whitey becomes more violent after his six year-old son dies of an allergic reaction to aspirin. He even gains more success in achieving FBI control in terms of trying to down the Angiullos. Connolly however becomes more attached to Whitey which interferes with his marriage.

However the bond between Bulger and Connolly reach a turning point as Whitey orders one of his men to kill two men associated with a scheme Whitey was to profit over. One man in whitey’s ring, Brian Halloran, comes across as untrustworthy and senses him to be a possible rat. Fearing for his life, Halloran goes to the FBI for help but to no avail. Connolly informs Whitey of Halloran’s sayings and Halloran is killed.

Bulger’s lust for blood and his own menacing behavior only grow over time and it leads to a downfall in his relationship with Connolly. Over time a new district attorney, Fred Wyshak, is hired in Boston. Despite Connolly’s attempt to befriend the ‘bulldog’ attorney, Wyshak refuses and attempts to have Bulger arrested. Eventually the secrets are unraveled thanks to the help of the Boston Globe which leads to the arrests of Connolly and Bulger’s three other men. Bulger however is successful in avoiding arrest of his own however he would be arrested in 2011 after 16 years ‘on the run.’

I’m sure what most people would be interested in seeing when they watch this film is yet another character played by Johnny Depp. The weird thing is about how unrecognizable he comes across with his balding hair and blue eyes. However I’m sure he was chosen because of how he could embody the character of Whitey with his criminal mentality and his personal demons both on the street and within himself. Mind you Whitey was quite the character in real life to give himself his own exile before ultimately being brought to justice only as he was in his 80’s. Some may find Johnny’s hair and make-up rather distracting but it doesn’t take away from the story.

This is a story of intrigue. Those who know the story of Whitey Bulger, or even those who only know the name but not the whole story, will take an interest in why Whitey carried this all out and why an FBI agent was willing to assist. No doubt the story is mainly about Whitey. However the story is about Connolly too. It makes one wonder why a childhood friend would be so loyal to the point he’d be willing to go against his job in order to help him out despite the fact he’s carrying out such hideous crimes. No doubt the theme of loyalty is very present in the film as it is a common fact that loyalty to family and friends is something valued greatly in Boston. The theme of loyalty comes to the point where we see a scene of Bulger on the run but not before thanking Billy just before he and the other men are sentenced.

The make-up of Depp as Bulger may get a lot of attention but the highlight of the film was his performance of a man who is smart but troubled and very easy to infuriate. Depp also did a good job of conveying Bulger’s growing anger and personal motives in his carrying out in the crime activities but he also did a good job in showcasing Whitey’s mind in why Bulger felt it was right in doing all these hideous crimes and why he needed his men to carry it out and an FBI to be ahead of the game. Even showing how the accidental death of his son would be the turning point in Bulger and his lust for control and vengeance adds to the story and the character. The film rested predominantly on the story of James ‘Whitey’ Bulger but it was Depp’s ability to show Whitey the person that made the story work at its best.

Sure, Johnny Depp carried the film but the film did feature other good supporting performances as well like that of Joel Edgerton as Connolly whose loyalty is questioned, Benedict Cumberbatch as Billy. The performances of the wives caught in the middle–Erica McDermott as Mary Bulger and Julianne Nicholson as Marianne Connolly– added to the human element of the story and kept it from being your typical hard-story crime drama.

This actually Scott Cooper’s third film as a director. The former actor’s best film making feat up to now has been Crazy Heart about a faded country star on a comeback. I don’t know if it’s as good as Crazy Heart but this is a very good film done by Cooper and is definitely his commercial breakthrough. Writers Jez Butterworth and Mark Mallouk did a good job of keeping it from being your typical mob-leader story.

Black Mass isn’t simply about an infamous crime leader. It’s also about the codes of loyalty some people would do for their friends, even if it meant violating their duties as an FBI. Very insightful and full of intense moments.