Rating: NR
Genre: Comedy
Release Date: 10/12/2004
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD2
Run Time: 100 min
Flags: Graphic Violence
Distributor/Studio: Shriek Show

A pair of victimized, nonconformist high-school students embark on a blood-soaked rampage of furious violence in director William Hellfire and Joey Smack's black comedy based on the Columbine High School shootings. Trench-coat-clad misfits Derwick (Joey Smack) and Derwin (Hellfire) never quite fit in with the crowd at Carbine High School. The butts of numerous jokes due to their disinterest in popular fashion and fitting into the cool clique, Derwick and Derwin generally keep to themselves until one fateful day when the student body beats unfortunate Derwin to near death. During his painful recovery, the physically and emotionally wounded teen admits to his only friend that he would like nothing more than to take revenge on those who teased him throughout the years and unmercifully beat him. When Derwick readily admits that he too would like to see his tormentors suffer, the gates of hell are blown open and it's only a matter of time until a nightmare fantasy becomes horrifying reality.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

To avoid getting offended just keep repeating "It's only a social satire...it's only a social satire...it's only a social satire.... Of course, this mantra may not justify the existence of a black comedy based on the Columbine High School massacre in the eyes of many viewers, although, upon closer inspection, directors William Hellfire and Joey Smack's over-the-top exercise in bad taste isn't nearly as offensive as one might imagine. In interviews pertaining to the film, both directors have repeatedly driven home the fact that in the days following the tragedy at Columbine High School, the overeager media descended upon the town of Littleton, CO, with the subtlety of the shooters themselves -- an act that could rightly be considered just as sensationalist or exploitive as his unapologetic, in-your-face feature, given the fragile state of the victims and their families at the time. Is there really any difference in a so-called "artist" such as Gus Van Sant offering his take on the massacre as opposed to Smack and Hellfire -- regardless of the former's comparatively subtle approach? In the latter's eyes, exploitation is exploitation, pure and simple, and the motivations behind any media portrayal of the events at Columbine High School always come back to money -- regardless as to whether the media entity presenting the tragedy admits to it or not. Though the sub-Troma quality of the production and performances by the majority of the cast ultimately prevent Duck! from being taken as seriously as it could be with a bit more polish, this is also what makes it infinitely less objectionable than it could be had the filmmakers went for a grander scale. Viewers may be surprised, however, to find that, as the film winds to its blood-soaked finale, Smack and Hellfire do seem to be trying to make some sort of genuine commentary on the motivations of the young gunmen and the situation in the media. Lying on the bed recovering from the relentless beating by his fellow students, Hellfire's character poignantly relates his plight to his only confidant with an honesty rarely seen in mainstream cinema. Of course, this is the farthest thing from mainstream cinema, and the unapologetic Smack and Hellfire simply wouldn't have it any other way.

~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

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Cast:
William Hellfire