Olive (Amanda Crew) has just been fired from her job, which comes almost simultaneously to the end of her most recent relationship, and in response to the crushing pressure of her modern millennial life, decides to pack up and leave, going on a solitary weekend excursion into the countryside, where she rents the house of Harvey (Robert Patrick), a reserved elderly man who appears to be a relatively normal individual. However, what Olive doesn’t realize is that he harbours a deep disdain for people like her, and she doesn’t realize that this kindly old man is leading her into a trap, from which escape is not very likely. Harvey despises the younger generation, finding their need for validation, materialistic lifestyles and selfish natures contrary to every principle he was brought up to believe as being sacrosanct, and from which he believes modern America was built from – he dislikes the idea of progress, and will do anything to return to the more simple life he remembered of his youth, even if it means resorting to murder. As a way of demonstrating his beliefs, and satiating his murderous inclinations that have arisen as a response to his beloved wife’s recent death, Harvey slowly starts to make it clear to his tenant that she may think she’s there for a weekend, but she’s going to be a permanent fixture of his home, especially after he is through with her, making sure that she understands exactly how he feels about this entire generation of people who are so often in conflict with his ideals of “the good old days”. Naturally, Olive may be a millennial, but her resourcefulness, and refusal to surrender herself to this crazed maniac, especially when she’s only inches away from demise, means that they make worthy adversaries – but which of the two will prove to be victorious in this vicious game of generational cat-and-house?

It’s baby boomers against millennials in Tone-Deaf, the new dark comedy from indie horror auteur Richard Bates Jr, who returns with one of the year’s most bizarre but also unexpectedly moving, social satires that feels very much on par with some of the director’s previous work, such as Excision and Suburban Gothic, films that shattered the boundaries between body horror, slapstick comedy and social commentary in a way that pointed towards Bates’ extraordinary talents as a filmmaker who could oscillate between chaos and restraint. His newest film may not reach the same heights as the other two (a very difficult feat, as these films, are truly hidden gems that stand as some of the most potent pieces of satire in recent years), but that doesn’t mean that it lacks its own merits – Tone-Deaf is as funny and outrageous a horror comedy as you’d expect from the director, who seems to be taking a slightly different approach with this film, dulling the comedy and violence in favour of a more labyrinthine approach to the themes of inter-generational conflict, and while some may accuse the film of building itself from the zeitgeist of the “boomers vs. millennials” debate, we can’t deny that seeing a timely film like this, especially one that doesn’t endeavour to preach but rather to entertain, was tremendously refreshing. It’s a film that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and while it does come across some obstacles along the way, they’re all secondary to a story that benefits massively from a straightforward approach to a very simple story that resonates with a certain intensity very few of us were expecting from what appeared to be a relatively offbeat dark comedy.

What makes Bates’ films so compelling is their shared quality of having a lot of heart, despite often being very bleak and sometimes even harrowing in the subject matter. In Tone-Deaf, the director is working from a far more audacious story and it’s here that we can find both the merits and shortcomings that feature prominently throughout the film. The idea of a horror film that focuses on the tensions between two different generations is an enticing prospect, and Bates should be given the necessary praise for endeavouring to make it because while not necessarily the most far-fetched concept, it had not been done in quite this way before, which gives it a certain relevance that may not allow the film to age particularly well (especially as the next generation comes of age, and pushes millennials out of the spotlight), but still remains a wonderful piece of contemporary filmmaking that tries to convey social themes in a way that isn’t entirely authentic (this film would not have been anywhere close to as good had it been realistic), but flourishing in how heightened it tends to be throughout. Ambition is an important aspect of many independent films, and Bates has never wavered from proving himself as a filmmaker willing to go to any lengths to tell a story while remaining fiercely independent in the spirit of his work, which is why, despite the challenges this film faces in terms of its narrative, we can’t fault it purely because of the intrepid choices made to tell this hilariously deranged story.

Not only is he able to subvert filmmaking in his own unique way, but Bates also tends to derive terrific performances from his actors, and Tone-Deaf is not any exception. Working with a slightly smaller ensemble than he normally does, the director instead focuses on the dynamic between the two main characters. Amanda Crew is a great protagonist, embodying the spirit of the millennial generation in a way that is hilariously accurate, but never mean-spirited, playing Olive with such a profound obliviousness, we can’t help but be captivated by her sheer stupidity and complete pretentiousness. Robert Patrick is exceptional, commanding the screen in a way that he rarely gets to do, considering how he is normally cast to play much smaller roles. Patrick has shown himself to be a capable actor many times before, and while he doesn’t necessarily step out of the archetypes he’s come to play for years, Bates brings out a side of him that allows him to do more with the role than just be a bundle of villainous cliches. We never quite know where we stand with Harvey – at one point, it appears as if he is simply a misunderstood old man, especially when he takes revenge on a young man he catches drugging Olive’s drink – but he subsequently proves himself to be evil incarnate, with his decision to wreak havoc on an entire generation being both ludicrous and terrifying. Crew and Patrick are both very good, playing these outrageous characters with complete dedication, to the point where it feels far more earnest than we’d expect from this kind of story, and while they aren’t the kind of performances that are normally remembered for being particularly notable, they do make something of an impression, especially through the simple but engaging way these characters are portrayed on screen.

Tone-Deaf has the task of condensing an entire debate (no doubt inspired by the “OK Boomer” trend of the past two years) into two individual characters, which was an ambitious task, and one could be seen as either a success or a failure, depending on the perspective we look at it from. The film is certainly not perfect, and many of the areas in which it could’ve done better stem from the promising premise not being realized to its full potential. The skeletal concept of the film is certainly very interesting, but it’s the peripheral elements that start to derail it – the sub-plot with Olive’s father committing suicide (featuring Ray Wise at his most lovably sinister), or her mother’s rendezvous with a much younger man as a way of feeling youthful, certainly are good moments but are otherwise worthless in a film that would’ve benefitted from some tighter attention being made to the main story. The shortcomings are nearly noticeable enough to be much of a problem, and the film does well to redirect attention back to the points where it matters, but we can’t ignore that the film was going for something that it didn’t fully achieve. The core of the story really only takes place in the final act, with the previous hour being filled with exposition and growing tension, only to have a rather lacklustre ending, where the comedy is seemingly entirely deflated from the film, and replaced with a hackneyed killer-victim scenario, with the only moments of comedy coming from the shoehorned addition of Olive’s mother and her beau saving the day. There’s clearly a lot of underlying story in Tone-Deaf, with many characters being woven into the film, serving a purpose that we can never quite understand, solely because they’re not developed nearly enough to make an impression. The film could’ve been a lot more lucid when it came to the central storyline, and while the impact is still there (especially through the occasional breaking of the fourth wall), Tone-Deaf comes up just short of brilliance.

Ultimately, Bates made a terrific dark comedy with Tone-Deaf – it isn’t particularly noteworthy in terms of announcing itself as a major work, and the best it can hope for is to develop a dedicated cult following. It certainly has a lot of potentials and despite some minor shortcomings in how it deviates from the most interesting parts of the story, it remains relatively coherent, never overstaying its welcome and being an effective satire that doesn’t quite land as well as it should in some instances but does have a lot of charm, especially in the director’s devil-may-care approach to a timely social debate, on which he admirably refuses to choose a side, being rather neutral in regards to how he tackles the various concepts. It’s not a film that takes many risks, and it is sometimes difficult to get through. However, it’s a hilariously irreverent glimpse at generational tensions, made by a filmmaker who always surrenders himself to the absurdity of his stories in a way that makes him someone who should be massively respected, and his consistent dedication to making small but ambitious projects confirms him as being poised for a major breakthrough. Tone-Deaf is a little rough around the edges, and it can sometimes feel as if it is going for broad laughs in the wrong moments, but the simplicity of the execution, coupled with a great story, is more than enough to qualify this as a delightfully twisted horror comedy that gives us something to think about, laugh at and quietly fear, which is certainly a rare achievement.