TIFF10 // SUPER: Seriously deranged dark comedy

Coming in the same year as Kick-Ass and with a similar premise, SUPER may initially seem to tread the same ground but it carves out a niche of its own. With wanton violence including beatings with a wrench, half-blown-off faces, and rape played for laughs, this is not a film that will resonate with a wide audience but those with a strong fortitude and an appreciation for depraved humour will find this to be an entertainingly crazy and often hilarious film.

SUPER shifts back and forth from being morbidly funny to thoughtful to batshit insane and back again, often in a matter of seconds. It could easily have fallen apart due to the sharp turns in tone, and it is a bit of a patchwork piece, but it feels surprisingly cohesive in no small part thanks to Rainn Wilson. He anchors the film in a difficult role that requires both a knack for comedic timing and dramatic gravitas and he delivers both in spades. He plays Frank, an antihero who has only had two moments in his life that he remembers fondly - the day he married former junkie Sarah (Liv Tyler) and the day he pointed out a criminal to a cop. When Sarah leaves him for Jacques (Kevin Bacon), taking her drugs with her, he is hit by a vision from the Holy Avenger (Nathan Fillion) inciting him to become Crimson Bolt, punisher of all that is evil. Wielding a trusty wrench as his weapon of choice, he fights evil on an incremental scale, leading to some seriously deranged scenes where he punishes the wrongdoers in increasingly violent ways.

Frank is undeniably a psychotic character but despite all the horrific things he does, director James Gunn (who also brought us Slither, an amusing piece of gruesome pulp that also walked a fine line) manages to bring the viewer into Frank's world, allowing us to understand and empathize with his character especially through his dedication to Sarah and his feelings of self-doubt. In turn, we are able to relate to Frank and remain firmly in his corner throughout the film despite the violence he visits upon many others.

It also helps that Gunn gives him a sidekick in the form of Boltie played by Ellen Page. At first glance, Page seems to be playing another variant of the quirky indie chick working at a comic store but as the film progresses, she reveals herself to be more of a sociopath than even Crimson Bolt. Page throws herself into the role 100 percent, relishing the freedom to play a character whose actions cross more than a few lines of good taste. Her arc is well-pitched as Page leaves her character's insanity to simmer underneath, peeking out on occasion in the first half of the film, only to let loose and shock (and delight) the audience on several counts in the latter half.

Suffice to say that SUPER veered into directions I didn't expect several times throughout the film, getting a kind of perverse kick out of its ability to confound and shock the audience. Despite a finish that could have been a little more satisfying, it is a true Midnight Madness film and as such, played the crowd perfectly.