REVIEW ‘ZERO KILLED’ @ FILM BIZARRO

by Ronny Carlsson | Film Bizarro, Oct 22, 2012

Have you ever thought about killing someone? Of course you have. Will you do it? Most people won’t, but some do. What would push you into ending a person’s life – self-defense, revenge or hate? Is it right to execute a murderer, or is it a case of severe double-nature? If you got the chance to kill someone, or be killed by someone, and it was fiction – what would be your murder of choice? These are the things that “Zero Killed” focus on.

In 1996, random people from all over the world were offered the chance to make their own short films about their murder fantasies. There was only one rule set: they have to act in them as well. Either as the murderer, or the victim. Now, many years later, they meet these people again and question them about their films and the motives behind them, as well as discussing the many sides of murder.

The short films we see differ heavily in style as well as murder of choice. Several of them portray shootings – either just execution by gun, or more along the lines of school shootings. Obviously, a lot of people went the route of torture – probably the most common style to go for. Everyone has imagined themselves torturing some asshole who has done them wrong, and the brutal things they would do to them before ending their lives. But then we have the short films that are either more creative, or just go for a different kind of murder entirely. A woman guiding a hitman through IMs, knowing that she has the power to end a life by just typing. Or the one I felt was the strongest, most effective and intense to watch – a suicide by poisoning. Many of the murders are gory, but this one is completely without blood and is effective because of the matter-of-fact-style, and the acting by the young man on screen. In many of these, you’ll recognize your own fantasies, but some of them also come off as strangely planned out. And that’s because people think about murder, it’s a fact and this documentary proves it.

The shorts are usually shown in smaller bits, and the real focus here is the interviews. Interviewing people about something as powerful as murder is always interesting, because they will either put up a defense or sorts and joke some parts of it away, or they will dig deep down and think about it. Think about what murder really is – ending a person’s life. Naturally, the moral questions are the main focus. Is it okay to murder someone who attacked a child in revenge? Is it okay to execute someone by law? These things will always be on topic, and I think that’s what makes this documentary as interesting as it is. It’s not just a mere discussion of murder, but with the short films it becomes a lot more creative. And even though it’s inappropriate, it becomes more entertaining.

If you check this out to get your gory kicks off, you’re in the wrong place. There are plenty of death scenes in here, but the main focus is the interviews. I personally felt the shorts were a really inventive addition to it, and it was quite inspiring to see the many ways of creating fictional murder. While there were some harsh scenes, most of them inspired me rather than disturbed. It’s to be expected, and there is probably a reason behind that as well. We all watch video violence nowadays and laugh it off. This documentary forces a group of people who have created their own fantasy to really think about what they did. Highly recommended for documentary fans overall!

Positive things:
– Inventive documentary featuring inventive shorts!
– Will always be on topic.
– Some of the shorts managed to be disturbing.
– Gets you thinking.

Negative things:
– I would’ve preferred seeing the entire shorts – maybe make two parts of the documentary. Although that could’ve taken the focus off of the point.

Rating: 
Gore: 2.5/5
 Nudity: 0/5 
Story: 3/5 
Effects: 2/5
 Comedy: 1/5

Read the review on filmbizarro.com