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[tab title="Movie Review"]

While browsing through your favorite streaming service last week, you probably flipped past the title card for the little-known Canadian thriller called Becky. Big mistake. Need convincing? It stars Kevin James as a swastika-tattooed neo-Nazi murderer. Yes, that Kevin James.

Need more? Then there’s 7-foot tall former pro wrestler Robert Maillet as a villain with a conscience, a 13-year-old revenge-seeking Nazi-hating girl, buckets of blood, the biggest macguffin this side of Pulp Fiction’s briefcase, and makeshift weapons fashioned from sharpened rulers, super soakers, colored pencils, and lawnmowers. Have your attention yet?

It’s difficult to imagine directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion successfully pulling off such a strange mixture of genres as they do in Becky. It’s like watching a back-to-back triple-header marathon of Home Alone, Hanna, and Rambo. Throw in a well-deserved hard R rating, brutal kill shots best watched through parted fingers, and you have one of the best little low budget Canadian horror thrillers to come along in quite some time. It’s that good.

Following the death of her mother a year earlier, 13-year-old Becky (Lulu Wilson, Annabelle Creation) is still having trouble processing her grief and takes out that frustration with bouts of extreme anger against those she loves most, including her father Jeff (Joel McHale, Community). As Jeff begins to move forward with new fiancee Kayla (Amanda Brugel, The Handmaid’s Tale), he takes Becky on a trip to the lake house, where unbeknownst to her, Kayla and her young son will join the family so that Jeff can inform his grieving daughter of his plans to marry Kayla. Naturally, Becky lashes out and retreats to her playhouse fort in the woods which turns out to be a fortuitous moment. {googleads}

Meanwhile, an escaped group of prisoners including Dominick (James, sporting one of the most aggressive beards ever) happens upon the house and takes the family hostage so that Dominick and his band of white supremacist followers can locate a missing key that Becky unknowingly possesses. Though Becky isn’t sure what the key is for, she’s smart enough to know not to hand it over and badass enough to know how to keep it from them. What ensues is a battle of wills and some of the most wildly imaginative (if not downright preposterous) hard R death traps this side of the Saw franchise.

Most likely to grab your attention about Becky at first glance is the presence of Kevin James as bad guy Dominic in what is being billed as his first dramatic role. And boy, does he deliver. He’s the most calm and rational of the whole bunch, but when pushed to the edge, becomes a terrifyingly brutal, and stone-faced ruthless killer who will stop at nothing to get his hands on the elusive key. Rest assured, he’s no Paul Blart here. Kudos to the casting team whose bit of stunt casting here pays off in a big way.

As good as James is, Lulu Wilson very much carries the film as the story’s heart and soul. None of this madness works without our buy-in to her headstrong quest for retribution. Her character is well-written with a soft and sentimental side we see via flashbacks with her bedridden mother, yet she convincingly executes her transformation in the film’s latter half.

Make no mistake, most of what happens is totally preposterous – especially the idea that an 80-pound girl could take on a posse of hardened criminals. And there is a strong need for suspension of disbelief throughout the film. But an open mind, coupled with a propensity for not taking anything too seriously will pay off in a huge way as much of the film’s enjoyment comes from the salacious excitement of watching a band of neo-Nazis get theirs at the hands of an angsty 13-year-old girl.

Featuring strong performances, whip-smart dialogue (from writers Nick Morris and Ruckus Skye), competent execution, and some of the most gruesome horror to ever come from north of the border, Becky is a pleasant little surprise. But make no mistake: it is straight up gleefully irresponsible revenge horror and is definitely not for the squeamish.

Becky is sure to find itself a lofty place on the pantheon of Canadian horror. Available on streaming on June 5, 2020.

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Blu-ray Details:

Home Video Distributor: Quiver Films
Available on Blu-ray: September 15, 2020
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH
Audio: 5.1
Discs: single disc set
Region Encoding: Locked to Region A

This gleefully irresponsible little revenge horror film from north of the border makes its way to home video in 1080p with a stripped down blu-ray release from Quiver Films.

While there's certainly nothing disappointing with the 1080p 2.40:1 picture quality or the 5.1 surround, we can't help but wish they had spent a bit more time on the release and given us a director's commentary or even some interviews with cast and crew. It's exactly these kinds of little independent horror films that benefit the most from one-on-ones with fans. Regardless, there are enough pleasant surprises and gruesome horror to make this one a strong recommend. This is a single disc package with a cardboard slipcover and nothing else, no extras, at all.

Video

We get a bright, clean 2.40:1 1080p presentation that holds up well from opening to closing credits, even in the interior dimly lit areas. Colors are always bright and vibrant, especially the gallons of blood that flow freely.

Audio

There's not a lot happening on the audio front from the English language, 5.1 surround track. However, dialogue always remains clear and audible while the film's percussive score works the 360-degree sound stage. Nothing to complain about but also nothing to blow our socks off.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

Other than a trailer, there are none.

• Trailer

Blu-ray Rating:

	Movie
	Video
	Audio
	Extras
Overall Blu-ray Experience

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, and language.
Runtime: 93 mins
Director: Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion
Writer: Nick Morris, Ruckus Skye
Cast: Lulu Wilson, Kevin James, Joel McHale
Genre: Horror | Thriller
Tagline: There once was a little girl ...
Memorable Movie Quote: "“There was a little girl, Who had a little curl, Right in the middle of her forehead. When she was good, She was very good indeed, But when she was bad she was horrid.”"
Theatrical Distributor: Quiver Distribution
Official Site:
Release Date: June 5, 2020
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: September 15, 2020.
Synopsis: A teenager's weekend at a lake house with her father takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts wreaks havoc on their lives.

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