Director – Seamus Hanly (Buzzards, The Amazing Few: Live at the Button Factory)
Starring – Seamus Hanly, Casey Jones, and Simon Mulholland (The Tale of Sweeney Todd, Newton: A Tale of Two Isaacs)
Release Date – 2016
Rating – 3/5
The last month or so I’ve been lucky enough to check out some pretty entertaining flicks with very few duds scattered throughout. After watching a few entertaining horror flicks and the new thriller from Concept Media I decided to sleaze it up a bit with Infrasexum from Vinegar Syndrome. This was a bit of a disappointment.
Wanting something better I took to my review stack to find the next film to pick apart. After a few minutes I decided to have a Troma triple feature. The last few weeks has saw the release of The Middle Finger, The Thingy: Confessions of a Teenage Placenta, and Essex Space Bin. This was the perfect time to toss in the Irish superhero tale The Middle Finger.
**Spoiler Alert**The film follows the socially awkward Dennis (Hanly) who was retained a year in school while his friends go off to college. He tries to fit in but his best friend is ashamed of him and often humiliates him. To make matters worse, the biggest asshole in school has it out for him. When Dennis feels he can’t sink any lower an intergalactic being speaks to him and offers him an once in a lifetime opportunity. He empowers him with the power of the mighty middle finger to fight crime while looking for an evil being that can destroy the planet.**Spoiler Alert**
Troma is one of my favorite indie labels but they have released a few turds here and there. No one is perfect and neither is Troma’s catalogue of films. With that being said, The Middle Finger was fucking fun. It has a few laughs and a story that hooked the viewer like a catfish.
The acting in this one is solid but left plenty of room for improvement. Seamus Hanly creates a fun superhero but Hanly as an angsty teenage made me want to punch him in the mouth. I guess that is a true testament to his acting chops because I really hated his character until he was wearing the finger. The supporting cast is solid as well but their inexperience did pop up from time to time.
The story for this one was fun. We have a bit of a slow start but when the film picks up it holds the viewer’s attention very well. I’ve seen my fair share of indie unconventional superhero flicks but The Middle Finger stands out. It actually has some laughable moments but a good portion of the humor does fall flat. The film has decent pacing but a few scenes does drag on a little too long.
Finally, this isn’t a bloody horror film that I am usually reviewing. Instead, this no budget comedy has light practical effects with some visual effects. Overall, The Middle Fingeris a perfect fit for Troma. The characters are absurd and the story fits right in. This one needs to be checked out.
