Kill your Friends - Blu-ray

Content: 1997: Amidst the Britpop scene, music executives are doggedly fighting for the next big hit. Among them is Steven Stelfox (Nicholas Hoult), who wants to become the new A&R (Artist & Repertoire) manager at his label at any cost. With some cunning moves, he manages to unseat his previous boss. Now, if he can just buy one more big hit, the job will be his. But unfortunately Steven gambles away and now his constantly coked-up friend and colleague Waters (James Corden) is to become the new A&R manager. And Steve must prevent that at all costs. But he's far from the only one who would literally walk over dead bodies to be able to operate at the top of the music business. Let the games begin.

With Kill your Friends, director Owen Harris (Misfits) presents the film adaptation of the cult novel by John Niven, who has worked his own experiences as an A&R manager into the work. It is not uncommon for the book to be compared to American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis, and the two film adaptations are also subjected to this comparison. In a way, there are also clear parallels between the two works, but especially towards the end, Niven's work loses some of its momentum and bite compared to American Psycho. That's not to say that Kill your Friends isn't an entertaining film. On the contrary.

's cynical reckoning with the music industry has some pretty great moments. Steven's bitter monologues, with which he repeatedly addresses the audience directly, Moritz Bleibtreu as a completely wacky German music manager, the desperate attempt to build a successful girl band out of a wild bunch of worst ghetto chicks or the clever manipulation attempts with which Steven wants to be promoted to A&R manager, console over some of the somewhat bumpier moments. When it becomes clear that everyone here is exploiting, manipulating and backstabbing everyone else, the fierce battle for the next big hit becomes quite a treat.

Although all of this may seem over the top, this look at the dark side of the music business doesn't really seem unrealistic. The wonderful soundtrack, the good actors (especially an excellent Nicholas Hoult) and the great ending make the film, despite some weaknesses, on balance for lovers of works like Drecksau or just American Psycho absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The technical realization of the Blu-Ray is on a very high level. The image sharpness is very good and allows even small details and textures to show to advantage. The coloration looks very natural and also the matching of black levels and contrasts support the positive overall impression of the picture quality. The same can be said for the sound. Although there are no big effects fireworks due to the genre, the surround channels are repeatedly occupied by atmospheric ambient sounds and the ingenious 90s soundtrack, resulting in an overall very coherent sound carpet. Very good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer and uncommented B-roll footage (approx. 7 mins), there's also a look at the premiere at the Zurich Film Festival with supporting actor Moritz Bleibtreu (approx. 5 mins), as well as ten promo interviews with the cast, director and producers (approx. 50 mins).

Conclusion: Kill your Friends is a bitterly cynical satire of the badass music business in the 1990s. Not quite as nasty as American Psycho once was, but definitely similar in tone to the biting film adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' controversial bestseller. The film's greatest strength, however, is Nicholas Hoult, who delivers a wonderfully vicious and charismatic performance. The Blu-ray presents the film in very good picture and sound quality, with a few interviews and B-roll footage as bonuses. It's not really mind-blowing, but the film is entertaining enough that the rather disappointing extras don't detract from it. All in all, absolutely recommended here

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp