Kaboom

Actually, film student Smith (Thomas Dekker) already has enough on his plate. After all, he wants to use his years at college to become more aware of his position in society, his sexual orientation and his talent. His crushes on his unfortunately straight roommate Thor (Chris Zylka), a brief fling with his chance acquaintance London (Juno Temple), and his brash best friend Lorelei (Roxane Mesquida) keep Smith quite busy. But then he begins to be haunted by strange dreams in which people completely unknown to him keep appearing. When he meets Lorelei's latest love interest Stella (Haley Bennet) and recognizes one of the protagonists from his dreams in the young lady with psychic powers, things take on more and more surreal features. More and more, Smith's world goes off the rails until it threatens to explode completely with a loud kaboom.

Following the acclaimed abuse drama Mysterious Skin and the quirky comedy Smiley Face, director Gregg Araki returns to his roots with Kaboom, adapting his own screenplay that tackles the fears, ideals and dreams of teenagers and young adults in original and unusual ways. Inspired by the cult series Twin Peaks, Araki attempts to mix elements of teen comedy with a heavy dose of mystery, but also borrows from science fiction and horror. The result completely eludes the viewing habits of a mainstream audience, but is in its own way a highly original cinematic trip.

What at the beginning still seems like a variant of the college comedy Einsam, Zweisam, Dreisam, in which the main character is also in search of his own sexuality and develops a certain desire for his roommate, is repeatedly interrupted by very surreal moments, sometimes reminiscent of Donnie Darko, then again of Araki's own Teen Apocalypse trilogy. The whole thing culminates in a finale that is perhaps a little too abrupt, but like the film itself is full of surprises and also defies clear explanation.

The actors manage very well to transport the strange atmosphere of the production into their characters. The mixture of naive innocence, emotional overload and almost apocalyptic pessimism, spiced with a bit of over-the-top irony make the characters of Kaboom complex and interesting. Thomas Dekker in particular, best known from the Terminator TV series and the unnecessary remake of A Nightmare on Elm Street, distances himself here in a very convincing way from the rather slick and colourless roles he has had to play far too often so far.

Surely, Kaboom is not made for a large audience. Quite deliberately, Araki has made a niche film that viewers who enjoy such experimentation will only gradually discover for themselves. But even if the absurd mixture Araki delivered here might not be to everyone's taste, the whole thing is original and entertaining in any case. So if you want to get involved in a bizarre movie experience completely off the beaten track, you should dare to watch this one. Worth seeing

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp