Horror movies can easily get lost going down a path of just being a gore-fest or just being one big metaphor. The most successful efforts in the genre manage to do more than one thing, or at least aren’t completely simple to pin down. Jay Baruchel’s second outing behind the camera, the horror flick Random Acts of Violence, manages to do this with aplomb. Not only is it gnarly and gory, it’s peddling a message, one rooted in the creative process. Almost a decade after he first began to try to bring this story to the screen, it’s now coming out on Shudder and is well worth your time. For Baruchel, as well as fans of the genre, it’s worth the wait. The film is a horror outing, one that seeks to ponder what the real life consequences can be when life imitates art. Here, it’s a violent comic book called SLASHERMAN, written by Todd Walkley (Jesse Williams). Todd is wrapping up the series, but he doesn’t quite have an ending yet. However, he knows it has to be a great one, as the book has a rabid fanbase, as well as strong detractors. As he gears up for a road trip with his wife Kathy (Jordana Brewster), assistant Aurora (Niamh Wilson) and best friend/business partner Ezra (Baruchel), one meant to take them from Toronto to a comic book convention in New York City, murders begin to be committed. Not just any murders, either, but ones inspired by Todd’s comic. While the group slowly start to realize this, they also become targets, and even victims, of the perpetrator. The longer this goes on, the clearer it becomes that Todd is also being asked to take artistic responsibility for what he’s created. Baruchel directs a screenplay he co-wrote with Jesse Chabot, adapting a comic series by Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti. Supporting players include Clark Backo, Simon Northwood, Isaiah Rockcliffe, and more. Karim Hussain handles the cinematography, while the score is from Wade MacNeil and Andrew Gordon Macpherson (Macpherson also edits the picture). Jay Baruchel proves himself not just a fan of the genre, but an effective director of it as well. He’s got the goods, leaning in to the gore, as well as the philosophical message at its core. This is clearly low-budget work, but that actually works in its favor. A more highly polished studio outing would have compromised […]