Kalamity (2010)

0% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
33% of users liked it
(2,741 ratings)

Haunted by memories of his ex-girlfriend Alice (Beau Garrett), a heartbroken Billy (Nick Stahl) returns home to Northern Virginia seeking solace from old friends. But what he finds there is more disconcerting than comforting: his best friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) has become unstable,… More Haunted by memories of his ex-girlfriend Alice (Beau Garrett), a heartbroken Billy (Nick Stahl) returns home to Northern Virginia seeking solace from old friends. But what he finds there is more disconcerting than comforting: his best friend Stanley (Jonathan Jackson) has become unstable, mysterious, and withdrawn from those around him. Billy teams up with another old friend, Stanley's roommate Christian (Christopher M. Clark), to find out what's going on, and as they probe Stanley's recent activities, their friend's behavior seems more and more bizarre and frightening. The discovery of blood-stained evidence among Stanley's possessions pulls them deeper into their friend's nightmare-and eventually leads to a violent confrontation that not everyone will survive.-- (C) Official Site

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 40 min.
Directed By: James M. Hausler
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Oct 22, 2010 Limited
On DVD: Feb 8, 2011
Studio: Beat Pirate Motion Pictures

Critic Reviews

Mark Jenkins, Washington Post
More skillfully directed than written, "Kalamity'' is competent yet never startling, either artistically or viscerally.
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News
Stahl should have had a career similar to Sam Rockwell's, blending thoughtful indies with fun popcorn flicks. Instead, he's spinning his wheels in junk like this.
Kyle Smith, New York Post
There isn't enough plot in this amateurish mope-athon to fill up a half-hour TV show.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
For all its seriousness, Kalamity lacks a steady narrative drive.
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times
Writer-director James M. Hausler seems convinced that deep emotional truths will seep from the screen if he keeps downshifting the pace to an arty crawl and holding his actors in a vise grip.
Ella Taylor, Village Voice
Though Hausler's sincerity is palpable, his efforts at world-weary ennui seem premature, and his wisdom about what motivates random violence in the youth of today proves too callow for a satisfying climax.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
... callow and self-impressed ...
Brian Tallerico, HollywoodChicago.com
With an overdone score, horrendous script, choppy editing, and bizarre tone changes, Kalamity is just weird in that B-movie, straight-to-video way that sometimes distinguishes films into the so-bad-it's-good genre but not quite here.
Maitland McDonagh, Miss FlickChick
A talented cast can't save this low-budget psychodrama about male malaise from its meandering screenplay.
Frank Lovece, Film Journal International
Kalamity well describes this katastrophe.
Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine
The brooding main characters in James M. Hausler's Kalamity take indulgent suffering to another level.
Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru
A lackadaisical albeit stylishly directed thriller deficient in suspense, imagination and genuine poignancy.
John P. McCarthy, Boxoffice Magazine
Kalamity is a real klunker.
Simon Abrams, New York Press
A lofty but uneven psycho-noir, Kalamity is a genre film whose ambition unfortunately exceeds writer/director James Hausler's means.
Scott Tobias, AV Club
A strange, stilted, misbegotten drama, undone by variable performances, awkwardly inserted flashback and fantasy sequences, and a gloppy overlay of voiceover narration.
Eric Hynes, Time Out New York
An awkward, unforgivably slack thriller that takes elaborate pains to show how supposedly easy it is to go from heartbreak to homicide.
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
"Kalamity" is the kind of indie suspense thriller that gives indies a bad name.