Black Circle Boys

Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs up
Review: Eric Maibus and Scott Bairstow have become fine young actors, and even their adequate performances cannot save this dismal, pointless, lurid and sadistic movie. Dee Wallace Stone should be ashamed for participating. Maibus plays the hypnotic leader of a teenage devil cult, with no conscience, morals, or regard for anyone but himself; Bairstow plays the usual "misunderstood" teen who looks to the group for acceptance. The script is laden with offensive four letter words in every other sentence; enough is enough. If this is the way teens talk, then steer me clear, folks. There is no heart or soul in this movie, and no reason to rent or buy. NO STARS. C'MON AMAZON, WHEN YOU GONNA GIVE US THE 0 STARS OPTIONS???

Rating:
Summary: POINTLESS
Review: Eric Maibus and Scott Bairstow have become fine young actors, and even their adequate performances cannot save this dismal, pointless, lurid and sadistic movie. Dee Wallace Stone should be ashamed for participating. Maibus plays the hypnotic leader of a teenage devil cult, with no conscience, morals, or regard for anyone but himself; Bairstow plays the usual "misunderstood" teen who looks to the group for acceptance. The script is laden with offensive four letter words in every other sentence; enough is enough. If this is the way teens talk, then steer me clear, folks. There is no heart or soul in this movie, and no reason to rent or buy. NO STARS. C'MON AMAZON, WHEN YOU GONNA GIVE US THE 0 STARS OPTIONS???

Rating:
Summary: the best movie
Review: Here's a very disturbing little film. It's about a young guy called Kyle (Scott Bairstow White Fang 2, The Postman, Party of Five (tv)) whose family moves to a new (and boring) little town and he ends up attending a new high school -- trying to fit in, trying to deal with being the new guy and also trying to cope with the death of his best friend. He goes from A student to loser in forty-five minutes, giving up being a top athlete in exchange for the acceptance of a group of heavy metal wannabes and large amounts of drugs - virtually everything from pot to lsd to crack. His life spirals out of control. He ends up joining the BCB who are a small group of these high school losers who practice an invented brand of Satanism in the wooded state park behind the high school. The group's leader Shane (Eric Mabius (Party of Five (tv), Lawn Dogs, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is severely disturbed and influenced by drug dealer/fence Greggo (Donnie Wahlberg yeah, that one -- New Kids on the Block, baby) who is the local Temple of Set devil worshiper who recruits local high school losers and gets them to rob houses for him in exchange for drugs.

The plot moves along slowly as Kyle sinks into this realm of madness, but once there, it spins wildly out of control -- there is much violence (including sick satanic rituals where the Shane kills a cat and then they dig up a skeleton) and even murder. The acting is superb, and makes the overall effect of the film that much more disturbing.

Where are first it appears to be just another high school nostalgia film (heck, it looked like my high school), it becomes this horror film -- but way too realistic. One keeps asking, "where are the parents, where are the cops" as these lowlifes rampage through the town pillaging and killing and just making all sorts of mayhem.

In the end, Kyle must fight the demons which are pulling him under, and the second half of the film chronicles his attempts to overcome the darkness which threatens to consume and destroy him.

Rating:
Summary: A disturbing little film that's too close to reality
Review: Here's a very disturbing little film. It's about a young guy called Kyle (Scott Bairstow White Fang 2, The Postman, Party of Five (tv)) whose family moves to a new (and boring) little town and he ends up attending a new high school -- trying to fit in, trying to deal with being the new guy and also trying to cope with the death of his best friend. He goes from A student to loser in forty-five minutes, giving up being a top athlete in exchange for the acceptance of a group of heavy metal wannabes and large amounts of drugs - virtually everything from pot to lsd to crack. His life spirals out of control. He ends up joining the BCB who are a small group of these high school losers who practice an invented brand of Satanism in the wooded state park behind the high school. The group's leader Shane (Eric Mabius (Party of Five (tv), Lawn Dogs, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is severely disturbed and influenced by drug dealer/fence Greggo (Donnie Wahlberg yeah, that one -- New Kids on the Block, baby) who is the local Temple of Set devil worshiper who recruits local high school losers and gets them to rob houses for him in exchange for drugs.

The plot moves along slowly as Kyle sinks into this realm of madness, but once there, it spins wildly out of control -- there is much violence (including sick satanic rituals where the Shane kills a cat and then they dig up a skeleton) and even murder. The acting is superb, and makes the overall effect of the film that much more disturbing.

Where are first it appears to be just another high school nostalgia film (heck, it looked like my high school), it becomes this horror film -- but way too realistic. One keeps asking, "where are the parents, where are the cops" as these lowlifes rampage through the town pillaging and killing and just making all sorts of mayhem.

In the end, Kyle must fight the demons which are pulling him under, and the second half of the film chronicles his attempts to overcome the darkness which threatens to consume and destroy him.

Rating:
Summary: Ricky Kasso Story
Review: I saw this movie on late-night Showtime probably 5 or 6 years ago, and I remembered really digging it. It is "based on a true story", that being the one of Ricky Kasso in a 1984 New York suburb. But it's a very sensationalized version of the story.

The real Ricky was a drugged-out dumbass, who killed another dumbass for ripping him off, pretty simple. He listened to Ozzy and Maiden and had a few LaVey books and thought he was a Satanist. He tried to get all the people he knew into it, but they were only there for the drugs. Before he killed the dude he kept telling him to "Say you love Satan!" as he was stabbing him, like 21 times, then gouging his eyes out and smashing his head in. There were two other guys in the woods with him; one was his right-hand man, the other was some dude they didn't really know, who was just hanging out with them for the Acid he was on while he witnessed the murder (which led police to not believe his story).

The "Satanic Panic" of the media in 1984 grabbed the "DAMN DEVIL WORSHIPPERS" aspect of the story and made him into some Cult Leader, but in reality, he was just a dumbass headbanger. He hanged himself in jail, awaiting trial.

Discovery Channel did a documentary on it called 'Satan in the Suburbs' that's also available on amazon (I think). It's pretty much everything from the story. It's 45 minutes, which is too long, and very hokey (sinister narrator dude saying things like "It was an ordinary day, in an ordinary town, but this was no ordinary crime"...etc.) It does give every detail of it all...just.....very.....very.....slowly. Jim Van Bebber did pretty much a whole Re-Enactment film with a voice-over that told the story in 15 minutes called 'My Sweet Satan'....which is a brilliant little short film starring Van Bebber as Ricky. He updated it to 1995 and used Black Metal, but it's pretty much the story. It's in the extras on the DVD for 'Deadbeat at Dawn'.

Black Circle Boys elaborates on the story, making the "just some guy hanging out with them for the Acid" the heart-throb male lead and also the "new kid in town who falls in with the wrong crowd". Ricky (Shane in this movie) is a lot more intelligent and sinister than the real Ricky. They added a love interest and all the other crap "needed" for a script, and more murder and mayhem than the real story.

The acting is really, really good. The dude that plays the retard, Rory (Chad Lindberg...the real kid's name was Gary") did a fantastic job, and the other 3 main actors were great. DONNIE WAHLBERG plays the older, creepy, gay, Satanist who teaches Shane everything. There was a real guy named Pat I think, that educated Ricky. I assume that's who Donnie's character was based on.

The story was good, except the love interest crap and the "teen angst" vibe of it. It also played sometimes like a Lifetime movie with the sap, but the dirty Indie side makes up for those moments.

Bloodletting, cat sacrifice, lots of imagery and pentagrams, etc. They did the film the right way on this type of stuff; don't go overboard with it, but make sure that people who know what it's all about aren't turned off cause you screwed it up.

The ending was weak and the Final Showdown wasn't really believable, but I'm not complaining. Overall it's a good little movie guaranteed to please the Metalhead within you.

There was another movie made within the last few years on this story called 'Ricky 6', but I haven't made a huge effort to find a copy yet. Ebay is my friend.

Rating:
Summary: Two thumbs up
Review: In my opinion this movie is exactly what you would expect it to be. Sure it is vulgar, sure there are a lot of explicits throughout the movie and much drug use, but it is what it is. Scott's charachter is coming to grips with his friends death and looking to fit in and rebel where ever he can. It is a dark movie not suited for children, but if this is the type of movie that you enjoy and go into it knowing that it is dark, vulgar and morbid, and that is what you want to see at the moment then you get what you rented. No this is not what teens are like, nor is TX Chainsaw real either, the point is just sit back and either enjoy it or hate it, but I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is what it is.

Rating:
Summary: shattering performance by Mabius
Review: Scott Bairstow(Wild America, New Best Friend) and his parents move to a new town, he's enrolled into a new school, its where he meets a girl and the girl tells him about the Black Circle Boys, lead by Eric Mabius(Resident Evil, The Crow: Salvation), and other members include a fat brainwhacked kid, Donnie Wahlberg(Dreamcatcher, Southie), Wahlberg seems like a pervert..really and a skinny and whimpy Chad Lindberg(October Sky, The Fast and The Furious)..they include Bairstow into their little circle..party, rock on and do rituals..one involving a cat. Mabius goes really crazy and his performance is the glue that holds this movie together...very raw and brutal...a good movie

Rating:
Summary: Black Circle Boys
Review: Since when did clean-cut Hollywood hunks become a part of the goth' scene? While the occult has probably never looked so good or so polished, Black Circle Boys is an example of the type of movie that you wish was never made. From an over-reliance on script clichés to a plot that can be mapped out by viewers within the first five minutes, this is a bad movie, plain and simple. Except for glimpses of capable acting by the young cast, my feelings for Black Circle Boys would have gone as low as the religious figure the characters in the movie come to worship.

Kyle (Scott Bairstow) lived the happy suburban-American life. He was an All-American swimmer with a bright future. But then, tragedy hit (let the melodramatic music roll). During a rooftop party in celebration of Kyle's All-American selection, Kyle's brother fell several stories to his death. Rather than talk about the pain and deal with it, Kyle's father packs up the family and moves to a new suburban town hoping to suppress the family's sorrows.

Kyle begins anew at a school with a pecking order he was not yet a part of. Before long, Kyle gets involved with the contemporary group of boys "from the other side of the tracks" - the Black Circle Boys. Led by Shane (Eric Mabius), this is a small, but loyal, cult. Shane seduces Kyle with promises of drugs, alcohol and great power. With nobody else to turn to, Kyle goes along with the bad boys and the results are predictable.

You might be wondering, "Where's the girl? You can't have a cliché-riddled film without a pretty girl." Well, her name is Chloe (Tara Subkoff), and she becomes Kyle's link with the "real" world. Will she bring him back to the good side? I'm confident you will figure it out.

Much of Black Circle Boys' subject matter is disturbing. I still cannot come up with a good reason why there are scenes such as the tossing of a cat against a tree. This is pure cruelty, and isn't intended to have comical undertones. While scenes like these take us close to the world that Shane and the other Black Circle Boys inhabit, they are excessive and unnecessary. Some might think the film deserves a plus for realism, but for me, it is just taking things too far.

The cast of this weak film does deserve some credit. While none should be clearing a spot on the mantle for a golden statue, there are glimpses of stars in the making. Since Black Circle Boys was filmed in 1997, Bairstow has gone on to roles in Wild America, The Postman and television's Party of Five. Mabius has acted in Cruel Intentions, and Subkoff played the college girl in American Pie. Don't be surprised if these names pop up on lists of up-and-coming stars in the near future. But for the present, you'd be well advised to keep Black Circle Boys off your list of possible renters.

Rating:
Summary: oh my god i cryed over this movie
Review: this is one of my favriot movies i loved erics acting (hes such a babe) i cryed so much because of the way this movie played out (not that its a sappy romance film) i promas you you'll love this film i though the story kicked ass!!! oh and by the way brandon lee (from the crow) would be proud to see his type of film carry onto black circle boys...i tottaly reccomend this movie

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Rating:
Summary: "Evil Is... As Evil Does"
Review: When I bought this movie awhile back, I knew practically nothing about it, except that Scott Bairstow was in it, one of my favorite actors. Even if he hadn't starred in it, I would have enjoyed it anyway.

"Black Circle Boys", which is based on a true story, follows Kyle Sullivan (played by Scott Bairstow), who is a lonely teenager new to town and gets involved with a Satanic group of guys known as the Black Circle Boys. They spend all of their time getting wasted, beating people up (including their high school security guard), breaking into homes, and pretty much doing anything else destructive and illegal. The leader of the group, Shane Carver (Eric Mabius), is completely psychotic and, from the beginning, let's Kyle know he shouldn't make an enemy out of him, which of course Kyle does when he wants to leave the group.

For the most part, "Black Circle Boys" is a pretty dark film. If you can handle watching most of the things I mentioned above (i.e., drug use, strong profanity, and violence, which escalates to a couple of murders), then you'll probably be ok with this movie. I thought the acting was terrific, the characters were believable, and the moody Northwest setting was perfect (filmed around where I live: in the Puget Sound area). For Lisa Loeb fans, the singer makes a small appearance in a bar as the "angry woman" who tries to attack Shane as the group first walks in. Blink and you'll miss it.

The only thing that bothered me about "Black Circle Boys" was the cat killing scene, which is why I gave this movie a "4" instead of a "5". The scene isn't very graphic, for those who are squeamish, but I'm not very tolerant about killing animals. Other than that, this is a great film. Highly recommended.