''Urge'' is a 2016 American

thriller film Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...

directed by

Aaron Kaufman Aaron Kaufman (born January 26, 1982) is an American television personality, racing driver, and owner of Arclight Fabrication, a Dallas enterprise that supplies aftermarket components for the Ford F-100 pickup. He is the former lead mechanic fo ...

, written by

Jerry Stahl Jerry Stahl (born September 28, 1953) is an American novelist and screenwriter. His works include the 1995 memoir of addiction ''Permanent Midnight''. A 1998 film adaptation followed with Ben Stiller in the lead role. Stahl has worked extensivel ...

, and starring

Justin Chatwin Justin Chatwin (born October 31, 1982) is a Canadian actor. He began his career in 2001 with a brief appearance in the musical comedy ''Josie and the Pussycats''. Following his breakthrough role as Robbie Ferrier in the blockbuster ''War of the ...

Ashley Greene Ashley Michele Greene Khoury (born February 21, 1987) is an American actress. She is known for playing Alice Cullen in the film adaptations of Stephenie Meyer's ''Twilight'' novels. Early life Greene was born on February 21, 1987, in Jack ...

Alexis Knapp Alexis Merizalde Knapp (born July 31, 1989) is an American actress. She portrayed Stacie Conrad in the ''Pitch Perfect'' film series (2012–2017), Alexis in the party film '' Project X'' (2012), and appeared on the first season of the TBS come ...

Bar Paly Bar Paly; born Varvara Paley, is an Israeli-American actress and model. Early life Paly was born Varvara Alexandrovna Paley in 1985, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia (former USSR), to Olga (née Dnrob) and Alexander Paley. Her grandfathers served in ...

Chris Geere Christopher William Geere (born 18 March 1981) is an English actor. He is known for playing the lead role of Jimmy Shive-Overly in the FX and FXX dark comedy series ''You're the Worst'' and Roger Clifford in the 2019 film '' Detective Pikachu' ...

Nick Thune Nicholas Ivan Thune is an American actor, comedian, and musician. Life and career Thune was born in Seattle, Washington and grew up in Redmond. Thune moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career in stand-up. His early stand-up shows focused on wor ...

, Kea Ho,

Danny Masterson Daniel Peter Masterson (born March 13, 1976) Most sources give birth date March 13, 1976. FilmReference.com gives March 3, 1976. is an American actor. He played the roles of Steven Hyde in ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006), Milo Foster in ''Men a ...

, and

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...

. The film was released on June 3, 2016, in a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few theaters across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

and through

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

by Lionsgate Premiere.

Plot

A group of friends enter the Man's nightclub, Volcano, where one of them, Jason, is approached by one of the entertainers called the "Red Bastard". Jason follows the Red Bastard with the intention to buy party drugs from him or his employer. Jason is led to a back room of the club where the Man is entertaining some guests. Upon Jason's arrival, the Man cryptically announces that they have been expecting Jason, only to burst out into laughter immediately afterward. After the others have left, the Man introduces Jason to his drug, a new creation called Urge. The Man explains that Urge is something different from normal party drugs – claiming that it is like a key to unlock what is hidden, it basically tones down a person's sense of morality and strips them of their inhibitions. As the Man continues to speak, Jason cuts him short, explaining his distaste for people who are talking too much. The Man then reveals that he knows private information of Jason's life. The Man then takes his leave, telling Jason that the Red Bastard will lead him out and will be the one to sell him the Urge. The Red Bastard provides Jason with the drug and also warns him that every person may only take the drug once in their lifetime. Jason seems unaffected by Urge, much to the surprise of the Red Bastard. Jason provides Urge to his friends who, after taking it, enjoy a wild evening of partying at the nightclub. The next day, Jason and his friends meet up to discuss their plans for the day. Jason's wealthy friend, Neal, tells them that he has planned an elaborate day of activities for the day. But the friends, having developed a liking for Urge, respond that they'd rather just go back to the nightclub and do Urge again. Neal relents and throws an Urge-fueled party at his home, also inviting people from the nightclub to join. But this time, inhibitions are not only numbed but completely deactivated. This leads to the night taking a dark turn, leading to various severe injuries and even multiple deaths. Furthermore, it is revealed that not only are Jason and his friends taking Urge, but the Man has provided the entire island with the drug. Jason later heads to a diner as he cannot be affected by Urge. While he sits down in a booth, the Man joins him. Jason claims that the Man is responsible for the chaos on the island caused by Urge, but the Man replies that he cannot be held accountable for other people taking drugs. He also reminds Jason that he tells every person who takes the drug that they are only allowed to use the drug once in their life. At that moment, Jason is distracted by a girl at the counter and when he looks back into his booth, the Man has vanished without a trace. Upon leaving the diner, Jason witnesses a man deliberately jumping in front of a truck in an apparent suicide attempt. Jason rushes him to a hospital where he realizes the true extent of the drug, dozens of people are brought in because of wounds caused under Urge influence. One man shoots a police officer at the hospital for no apparent reason in front of Jason, who flees the hospital. Urge eventually results in the entire island running amok while each person fulfils their deepest desires. Eventually, Jason and his last living friend, Joey, escape the island via boat. Exhausted, both fall asleep immediately after boarding the ship. When Jason wakes up again, he finds the ship taken over by the Man and his cronies, including the Red Bastard. Jason disarms one of the men and heads upstairs where he confronts the Man at gunpoint. Jason demands to know why the Man plans to kill every person on the island, only for the Man to reply that he did not even lift a finger. Outraged, Jason demands to know whether the Man intends to play God and to smite the weak, only for the man to reveal that he is God and that Jason will be the one to do the smiting. He claims that Jason will bring Urge to the mainland to eradicate humanity, a flawed creation, for good but Jason refuses. Furious, the Man shows Jason an apocalyptic vision of the future. Once Jason snaps out of the vision, the Man has once again disappeared without a trace. Jason returns downstairs and sits next to Joey, with the Man's cronies having vanished. The film ends with the boat headed towards the mainland. The back of the boat can be seen with two covered shipping containers that are pulsating and glowing with the same purple color as vials of the Urge drug, suggesting that significant quantities of the drug are being transported to the mainland. Although it is not shown what happens to Jason after the Man's disappearance, a post-credits scene shows an unidentified woman and her young son shopping in a seemingly abandoned supermarket. The son wanders away from his mother to uncover a darkened aisle of the supermarket filled with people mindlessly slaughtering and hurting each other, implying that the Man's plan was successful and that Urge has made its way beyond the island.

Cast

as The Man *

as Theresa *

as Jason Brettner *

as Joey *

as Neal *Kea Ho as Xiomara *

as Denise *

as Vick *

as Danny *

Jeff Fahey Jeffrey David Fahey (, born November 29, 1952) is an American film and television actor. He has portrayed Captain Frank Lapidus on the ABC series ''Lost'' and the title role of Deputy Marshal Winston MacBride on ''The Marshal''. Early life and ...

as Gerald *

Alison Lohman Alison Marion Lohman (born September 18, 1979) is an American former actress. Born in Palm Springs, California, she began her career with small roles in short and independent films. Lohman headlined the drama film '' White Oleander'' (2002), wh ...

as Mother

Production

On September 29, 2014,

joined the cast. On October 2, 2014,

joined the cast. On October 7, 2014,

joined the cast. On October 14, 2014,

and

joined the cast. On October 24, 2014,

joined the cast.

Filming

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began on October 6, 2014, and ended on November 14, 2014.

Release

The film was released on June 3, 2016, in a

and through

by Lionsgate Premiere. The film was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

on September 6, 2016.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 0%, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 1.5/10. Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com called the film "a movie that’s as empty and unlikable as the characters themselves" in her 1-star review

Frank Scheck Frank Scheck is an American film critic. He is best known for his reviews in the ''New York Post'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter''. He formerly edited ''STAGES Magazine'' and worked as a theater critic for the ''Christian Science Monitor Ch ...

, writing for ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'', while enjoying "a dapper Pierce Brosnan gleefully hamming it up as a devil-like figure" otherwise panned the film, saying "Audiences tempted to catch ''Urge'' in its limited theatrical release or on VOD would be well-advised to remember Nancy Reagan's famous advice: Just say no."

References

External links

* * {{rottentomatoes, urge 2016 films 2010s thriller films American thriller films Lionsgate films Films about God 2016 directorial debut films Films scored by the Newton Brothers Films with screenplays by Guy Busick 2010s English-language films 2010s American films