The Big Finish (2000) User Reviews

"Jackass" meets "Natural born Killers" meets "Scream" meets "The Adam&Joe show"

[rob-236 · 6/10 · 22 January 2004]

What do you get if you put "Jackass", "Natural Born killers" and "Scream" in a blender and mix in a bit of channel 4's "Adam and Joe Show"?

The Big Finish, that's what!!

A really bizarre yet captivating tale, which starts off following two misfits and their last day of college. In their beaten up old Nissan Micra, and armed with "special" chocolate biscuits a packet of Condoms (and a hammer!), they film with a camcorder an "every day" day for them at college, playing pranks on the people who they meet daily - all of which they have some kind of axe to grind with.

Theres the janitor who "shopped" Tom for no tax disc, the school swot who thinks she's far too good to speak to them, a lecturer who seems to busy romancing a student than teaching class, and not forgetting a group of scallies, who hang around smoking weed, and running amok and making Gaz and Toms life a misery.

Its payback time!! and its all on tape!!

This film works well as it leads you down a nice "safe" path, then all of a sudden its turns faster than a snake, and its bite is just as vicious......

Pretty good and very fresh, although towards the end it seems to lose its way slightly, maybe the twist is too radical for its own good. One things for sure, it won't leave a nice taste in your mouth.

worth a look

[kliuv1 · 10/10 · 23 October 2003]

This is quite an intriguing film, cos it is shot with a handy-cam and costs about few hundred dollars. MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD. Two main characters decide to play a few pranks on the idiots that billed them. The pranks are all recorded on video and look very naturalistic. The confrontation gets out of control and the two kids start bumping off the bullies one by one with the hammer. There are quite a few things right about the film.

1) The acting is quite impressive and the main guy Gary has plenty of charisma. I hope he doesn't disappear from the screen.

2) The morality of the story is very relevant with all those Columbine shootings and so on. The movie brings up an important subject of how far a kid will go, before he snaps, and how guilty he is supposed to be in the end of the ordeal. 3) The whole feel of the movie is wonderful. It is much more believable than Blair Witch and much more entertaining. It really looks like the real documentary footage. 4) The dialogue is above the norm. Characters speak just like the real college guys, but with a lot of charm and wit. So, not for everybody, but worth a look.

Nice to see Varndean college again....

[zu20 · 19 October 2005]

I found this very interesting, not least of all because I was at the college where it was filmed whilst it was being filmed and thus can recognize a few of the cast as people from my lessons...it was a nice memory trip seeing all the locales too but anyway...

the resulting film is definitely better than I thought it would be, especially from the plot which concerns two college dropouts who perform a series of childish pranks designed to get back at those fellow college kids that they feel have wronged them.

however the abusive reactions of the people who have the pranks played upon them end up forcing them into murder.

the main objection I had against this film which was undoubtedly quite well acted, was the fact that unfortunately the two school boy like pranksters are supposed to be the people you're rooting for and yet they are easily as obnoxious and as childishly imbecilic as the people they are attacking, which means that as a viewer you struggle more than a little to know who to root for throughout it.

also the twist into over the top hyper violence really feels at odds with the rest of it which seemed to be an engaging exercise in true realism...it just doesn't feel all that plausible by the end that the two boys would cause so much violence.

I was also overwhelmed by the odd and inconsistent shifts in moods of the main characters Gary and Tom towards their actions, because it seems as if the film one minute considers the awfulness of teen peer violence and in the next seems ready to make us laugh at the boy's rampant killing spree...

definitely worth a watch because the beginning is surprisingly well acted and worthwhile but as I've said it all gets a mite bit ridiculous somewhere after the first bit of violence

I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed it

[rainbow-13 · 10/10 · 12 March 2003]

Gary and Tom are dropping out of college after 18 months. On the last day of term they plan a "big finish" - a series of practical jokes against students, faculty and staff - I won't spoilt it for you by saying what they do, but these jokes were fun, if a little cruel at times! Gary and Tom make a home movie of their day, and that's what the viewer sees. Everything goes OK until things get out of hand - and blood is spilled. Despite the blood, this is not a horror movie, but it is credible and well-done and I, for one, thoroughly enjoyed it.

Gritty in your face black comedy thriller set before you-tube created.

[jack_zone · 6 October 2011]

This movie has some very good ideas that show you a movie can be created with basic hand-held camera's (non HD in this case). The movies first 30 Min's have to be some of the funniest Jackass style jokes ever. The comedy timing of our two stars Gary and Tom is spot on. However there jokes spiral way out of control and eventually a feud between Gary and Tom vs the school bullies all ends in tears.....(literally).

The movie is a rare low budget gem, which starts of over the top silly comedy but then turns quite dark and nasty.

Oh and beware the movie does not really have an ending, like the way other hand held camera movies do not have an ending i.e Blair Witch, Cloverfield (infact I think Cloverfield ripped off there ending). In this case I found the effect of suddenly stopping the film far more effective in this case.

By the time the movie had finished in did so in a way that left me feel a little shocked but not full on depressed like the movie Eden Lake.

One of the best lines from the movie is when one of the stars asks there teacher "how many times, does 27 go in to 18?".

Being from the area it was filmed I had to buy it and was quite happy with how good this movie was. Plus features the comedian Kevin Bishop after his Muppet Treasure Island days but about 10 years before his big break TV comedy series The Kevin Bishop Show. In fact during the start of the movie I actually wondered if he was such a knob head as his Kev character version. Oh thats right all the actors play characters with there real first names in either nick name short versions or the full first name.

a hidden gem

[MrCakeAndPie · 10/10 · 8 March 2020]

This film displays anti social behaviour perfectly