So, with limited preparation (I had no idea what the film was about) I set about this American fraternity thriller. And, I have to say, it wasn't bad at all. The opening scenes are in the back of a van where three teenagers are being yelled at by one of their peers who then charges off, gun in hand, claiming he is going to rob a convenience store. He reappears seconds later to tell the trio they have to follow suit if they are to be accepted into a sought-after university fraternity. It quickly transpires that the initiation ceremony is a fake and, before each individual gets to the door of their respective stores, they are stopped by a fellow frat man who gives them the cash they have been instructed to rob, to make it look as if they have been successful. Unfortunately, he is not there when the last of the three , Kevin, (Lou Taylor Pucci) goes off to do his robbery and, therefore, Kevin tries to carry it out. However, things start to unravel pretty quickly. Kevin is shot in the shoulder by the shop assistant who refuses to believe he is not being properly held up until the concept is beaten into him by Kevin's friend Adam (Trevor Morgan) and Frank (Jon Foster), the teenager who had been giving the dummy instructions on the hold-up. Frank, fearing that the police would not understand the hold-up had been a prank, insists that Kevin, despite bleeding heavily is taken back to the frat house and the emergency services are not called. This begins a sequence of dramatic events in which just about everything transpires against a successful outcome for the group. All of the time, Adam is fearing for Kevin's life and is desperately pleading with Frank to take him to hospital. As sparring takes places over the decision, the dynamics of power and peer pressure are put acutely under the microscope of director Will Canon. Canon's movie is low budget but he builds up tension and develops characters well and, in less than 80 minutes, ratchets up considerable tension.
Review of Brotherhood
