It’s refreshing to go into a film not knowing anything about it. Somewhere between Home Alone and Rambo, The Aggression Scale initially seemed interesting.
The film centers on the Rutledge family and their new home away from the city. It soon becomes clear that they are in the sights of Bellavance, a mob boss on bail down $500,000. But he doesn’t know about the Rutledge’s young son Owen, an emotionally repressed child with a troubled past.
Owen is shown to have a keen interest in weapons and traps. He also has no dialogue. Hartwig however manages to show Owen’s state of mind by mannerisms alone, silently studying his surroundings. Not Oscar worthy but certainly a stand out.
Daughter Lauren is bossy and a typical hard done by teenager. She’s apparently written to be annoying…so success? Parents Bill and Maggie aren’t given much to do.
The villains of the piece are a cookie cutter boss and goons, and serve only to be shown up by our young protagonist. You have Twins Peaks’ Ray Wise as the cruel Mob boss, alongside fellow alumni Dana Ashbrook as ‘lead goon’ Lloyd. Also of note is Derek Mears (Jason Voorhees!) who is the designated ‘big tough goon’. He would have been better off keeping a mask on unfortunately. His physicality might be great but acting is not.
But there’s one big problem – The Aggression Scale is forgettable. Even with an intriguing premise and short run time it labours. It could have been much more interesting and entertaining to see a harsher, more violent version of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin.
Owen is a child who scores highly on The Aggression Scale. Though it has an interesting premise, it’s a shame that the film itself doesn’t figure higher on an enjoyment scale.
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