Reviews

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  ★★★★ review by Shawn Palmquist on Letterboxd

  This one really surprised me. It was tense, gripping, and had me guessing throughout. Also, oddly enough it mixes genres in a way that had me at times second guess which movie I was watching.

  The main story line revolves around a good 'ol boy wrapped up in a murder of another townsfolk...but in between delving into this situation, everything is inter-cut with a hipster love story taking place in Chicago. I won't reveal how the two stories manage to intercept, but nonetheless it kept me guessing up until the end. Additionally I was a big fan of the acting and overall gritty style of everything. Just felt raw and real in a way that you don't see too often.

  Highly recommend this for a good murder thriller that takes some odd chances, that mostly pay off. Solid.

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  ★★★★★ review by Ben Puszka on Letterboxd

  Not sure if I've ever come across a hidden gem so good before. Well actually my mom recommended it, when I would have passed it over for being a B movie I hadn't heard of and didn't recognize any of the actors names.

  I honestly don't know why this hasn't gotten any attention, I mean Uncle John (John Ashton) and I'm about to say this... better than Leo in The Revenant. As in he should have won best actor.

  Seriously Watch This!

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  ★★★★ review by Brian Hammons on Letterboxd

  Merciless and mercurial, bobbing up and down in the riptide of a once placid lake, the dread in its last act put a ball of nerves right in my gut. It's a farmland thriller/workplace meet cute that's a playful yet barbed gallimaufry that's as sweet as fresh-shucked white corn and as dangerous as a burning pile of debris.

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  ★★★½ review by Ryan on Letterboxd

  Uncle John approaches it's story with two seemingly separate stories that slowly come together until they converge at the halfway mark, making for an interesting film.

  I guess my biggest gripe is that I can't quite wrap my head around the reasoning for the dual story aspect. I understand what the relationships between characters is and what is being implied in the back story, but I can't seem to understand why exactly we needed the story with Ben and what it's significance was to it converging with John's story. I enjoyed Ben's romance with Kate, and their presence towards the end added some tension for sure plus a unique back and forth between stories, but I could also see the main plot occurring without those characters, or at least without having to see how they to to John's place. There's a sequence towards the end where John is doing something and it is inter-cut with a development between Ben and Kate, and I kept trying to figure out what was being said. Perhaps I am too used to looking deep into a film, and I am trying to find what the juxtaposition means when it really doesn't mean anything, but it just kinda stumped me a little bit. Seriously, if anyone who has seen this can try to explain what they think the connection was, I would love to hear it.

  I did enjoy the film though, even with the glaring issue of an underdeveloped (or perhaps under explained) connecting theme. The slow burn to the eventual story connection felt unique, and I liked the tension that was built towards the end, especially due to the fact that nothing is fully explained explicitly, but you are given enough to figure it out. It's a unique indie thriller/drama that reminded me a bit of Blue Ruin.

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  ★★★½ review by Francois beavertree. on Letterboxd

  I think the cover made me think this was gonna be more gruesome but it was mostly just suspenseful and im not real good with suspense it also seemed like a subtle dark comedy at some points.

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