Writer and director Andrew Fitzgerald (The Smiley Face Killers, Working It Out) delivers a haunting new thriller all about trauma and revenge. An Angry Boy tells the story of Owen, a young man living with his overprotective single mother. After a traumatic, violent event turns Owen’s life upside down, he is forced to unlock long repressed memories to find and stop those who harmed him.

An Angry Boy is a surprising thriller that dives into some very heavy topics. When the audience first meets Owen, he seems to be at the threshold between childhood and adulthood. As he’s trying to figure out his path in life, something happens that changes everything. Not only is his future in even more turmoil than it was before, but he is also forced to confront the horrors of his past. This past is something Owen’s mind had blocked out to protect him, but now he has to remember in order to stop those who wish him harm. As the film begins, it takes a bit for the pieces of context to fall into place. The audience might be a bit confused, but that’s also because the protagonist is confused and doesn’t have all the information he needs. Once the secrets of the past begin to come to light, the violence and suspense all start to make sense. From there, the film is a fairly straight-forward psychological thriller that is both gritty and disturbing.

It’s important for viewers to know that An Angry Boy at times is difficult to watch. While there isn’t anything explicitly shown, it does involve sexual and violent crimes against children. Luckily, the filmmakers chose not to show these crimes and instead made it clear through dialogue and inference. The film also explores themes of cults. This is very interesting because it doesn’t examine cults in a mystical way commonly shown in thrillers and horror films. Instead, cults are simply any group outside the norm that is strongly devoted to a single person or idea, including groups such as NAMBLA. With such heavy topics being explored, it was a wise choice for the filmmakers to take a very direct, realistic approach to Owen’s journey.

This indie film has a range of powerful and disturbing performances. The star of An Angry Boy is Scott Callenberger, making his feature-film debut as Owen. What makes Callenberger’s performance so compelling is that, at his core, Owen is a good kid. He clearly wants to help others and make the world a better place. Yet, just beneath the surface there is a deep rooted anger in Owen, placed there by his childhood trauma and left to fester. Callenberger does a fantastic job of balancing that desire to do good with his inner rage, especially when that rage bubbles up to the surface. While Callenberger is the driving force of the film, other memorable performances come from Caleb Lowery, Thomas Cambridge (Diabolical), Lauren McCann (The Equalizer), and Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight).

With the uncomfortable, grimy themes of An Angry Boy, the visuals have a grittiness to match. There is almost a tactile, grainy look to the film that is further enhanced by a yellow tint. It gives the film a dirty look that lends to the hidden, criminal underbelly Owen is forced to confront. Between the look of the film and the disturbing antagonists, some audience members might feel they need to shower after this viewing experience. Being a low-budget, indie film, the rest of the visual elements are a bit more subtle. There are a handful of scenes showcasing very well done practical effects wounds that look quite realistic. Owen is an artist, which means his artwork is shown quite often throughout the film, and the artwork looks great. Of all the visual elements, there is really only one that stands out as a negative. This involves a quick-cut that seems to be there just to act as a jump scare, which visually doesn’t fit well with the rest of the film.

An Angry Boy is a harrowing tale of trauma, violence, and vengeance through the eyes of a teenage boy. Fitzgerald created a film that conveys the horrors carried out by sinister men, without actually showing their atrocious acts. This allows for viewers to grasp just how evil these men are, while at the same time focusing on Owen’s journey of self-discovery and revenge. Callenberger makes a powerful debut as Owen, driving the plot forward and adding emotional depth to the film. Audiences can experience all the grit, terror, and violence of An Angry Boy beginning June 7th on VOD.

OVERALL RATING: 7/10