I Kill Giants (2017)

Barbara Thorson struggles through life by escaping into a fantasy life of magic and monsters.

Director:

Anders Walter

Writers:

Joe Kelly (screenplay by), Joe Kelly (based on the Man of Action graphic novel "I Kill Giants" created by)

Stars:

Madison Wolfe, Zoe Saldana, Imogen Poots

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Madison Wolfe	...	Barbara
Zoe Saldana	...	Mrs. Mollé
Imogen Poots	...	Karen
Sydney Wade	...	Sophia
Rory Jackson	...	Taylor
Allanah O'Connor	...	Crony #1
Maya Peters	...	Crony #2
Art Parkinson	...	Dave
Jennifer Ehle	...	Barbara's Mother
Don Wycherley	...	Principal Marx
Aideen Wylde	...	Mrs. Potts
Noel Clarke	...	Mr. Mollé
Sonya Kelly	...	Mrs. Laney
Ben Carolan	...	Mophead
Brandon Maher	...	Jock

Storyline

Twelve-year-old Barbara Thorson flees from reality, living in the imaginary world of fantasy and magic, where she fights with giants. Her family does not understand her, peers do not like her, and she irritates teachers. And only recently moved here Sofia, her same age, trying to make friends with her.

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Plot Keywords:

giant | bully | cancer | forest | school | 

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Belgium UK USA China

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 March 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

Chasseuse de géants

Filming Locations:

AED Studios, Lint, Flanders, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

$15,100,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

1492 Pictures,Ocean Blue Entertainment,XYZ Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Atmos

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Halle Berry was considered for the part of Mrs. Mollé. However, she wasn't considered bankable enough to star in the film.

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Goofs

The English girl claims to be from Leeds, England, so should sound lower class northern, instead she has an accent that sounds way more like she's grown up in the Home Counties. For those unfamiliar with this, she should sound more like the new female Doctor Who or the first Doctor of the new series, but instead she sounds more like she should be finding lions at the back of the wardrobe or casting spells with Hermione Granger. Pip pip.

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Quotes

Taylor: D'you think it's funny to spit on people?
Barbara: Not ha-ha funny, but existentially, yes.

User Reviews

A misunderstood film only because the writers failed to fill in the holes properly

I can understand why there are so many bad reviews for this film. For starters, the screenplay was flawed from the comic book adaptation for leaving too many holes that were needed to help the viewer surmise the premise. Whether those details were edited out to maintain the films length (a huge mistake - the extra information was needed) or the screenplay was actually flawed, those are the major contributors for holding back this film in being great.

Having a background in psychology, I understood what was happening, but I know it wouldn't have been clear enough for the average person. What this film really needed is a little more back story throughout the film as well as some pertinent details that were missed. Some scenes were overly dramatic and could have been toned down and explained better. Somewhere towards the middle of the film, it should have been made clear that this was an example of typical child like Barbara's psychological response to use their imaginations to deal with stress in lieu of logic and experience they find in adulthood. For many young people, getting caught up in a fantasy is the only way they can cope, and eventually confront, a troubling reality - a reality that should also have been made a little clearer in advance, not at the very end. This would have made the film more audience-friendly, instead of leaving them scrambling to their own conclusions of what the premise of this film is. The only other way to have clarity for this film is to have known that the comic books were written for children to help them cope with their mother's dealing and suffering with breast cancer and their eventual loss.

Aside from that, director Anders Walter did an outstanding job in his first full length feature film directorial debut. The cinematography was on point, the VFX outstanding, the score appropriate and the acting was perfect by all cast members. It's too bad the writing was not tighter and more audience friendly, as then this would have been a great film. Nevertheless, a well deserving 8/10 from me.