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Kaboom

Comedy, Horror, Sci-Fi

A sci-fi story centered on the sexual awakening of a group of college students.


The critical consensus

To quote one of its characters, Kaboom is nuttier than squirrel shit. Yet it’s good to see the respectability Araki won from 2004’s Mysterious Skin hasn’t sapped his subversive streak.

****(*)Neil Smith, Total Film, 31/05/2011

Kaboom is a riot of wild plot developments which send the film careering from one unexpected scenario to the next, taking its viewers on an increasingly crazy journey. It might not make a whole lot of sense, but for those willing to jump aboard and go with it, it’s unbridled fun.

****(*)Gail Tolley, The List, 23/05/2011

Gregg Araki's sci-fi is a weird and, just occasionally, wonderful skew on the college comedy. Slight but fun.

***(*)(*)David Hughes, Empire Online, 06/06/2011

Its permanent entry into the cult cannon may be scuppered by its cheap cinematography, and a general lack of charm.

**(*)(*)(*)Danny Scott, The Skinny, 07/06/2011

Less an anthem, more a discordant impromptu.

**(*)(*)(*)Nigel Andrews, Financial Times, 08/06/2011

Bright and intoxicating, but too cluttered to be placed alongside the director’s best.

***(*)(*)Adam Woodward, Little White Lies, 09/06/2011

Kaboom, more often that not, comes on like a DayGlo, hyper-sexualised Twilight.

**(*)(*)(*)Sukhdev Sandhu, The Telegraph, 09/06/2011

It's a quirky, freaky comedy, designed to be shown at cult "midnight movie" slots. Araki has a light touch; not all directors have.

***(*)(*)Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian, 09/06/2011

The result is like a delirious, demented cross between Donnie Darko and Twin Peaks with an undeniably handsome cast and a good deal of film-making skill. Don’t expect it to make a lot of sense but just enjoy the wild trip.

***(*)(*)Caroline Jowett, Daily Express, 10/06/2011

Araki excels at a sardonic kind of cool and writes some scabrously funny dialogue, but his grasp of narrative is woeful – the story here proceeds as though it's literally being made up, moment by moment.

**(*)(*)(*)Anthony Quinn, The Independent, 10/06/2011

Think Eyes Wide Shut with its legs wide open.

**(*)(*)(*)Daily Record, 10/06/2011

It's the kind of film that refuses to draw lines between what's real and what's hallucination, just as the characters resist defining their identity by sexual orientation.

***(*)(*)Alistair Harkness, The Scotsman, 11/06/2011

An always intriguing, often very funny, apocalyptic tale.

Philip French, The Observer, 12/06/2011

None of it sticks, but that scarcely matters - it’s a high-sugar, consequence free carnival, vibrant and colourful and utterly loopy.

***(*)(*)Paul Greenwood, Evening Times, 23/06/2011


Features about Kaboom

Profile: Gregg Araki

Gail Tolley, The List, 23/05/2011

Where and when?

General release. Check local listings for show times.

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