Sean Parker
We’ve all been scammed in one way or another. The internet is quickly replacing the bad places and dark alleys we were always told to avoid as kids. Yet, it resides inside every one of our homes, leaving none of us truly safe from falling victim to bad actors looking to steal our information and money, with little protection for users. But what if there were a movie that allowed you to feel a bit of catharsis, encouraging you to give in to you’re black-hearted, animalistic desires of going excitedly ape-shit on the mother*cker who took your hard-earned money? Well, writer-director Shane Brady and his wife, producer Emily Zercher, know that pain, creating Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma as a way to funnel their contempt into a rip-roaring comic calamity of R-rated Looney Tunes delights.
When I decided to travel to the Chattanooga Film Festival this year, Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma was among the absolute top films I wanted to catch with a crowd. The film is playing virtually through the festival, but after following this story vicariously through Brady and Zercher’s Instagram accounts, as well as reading their interviews with several online publications over the last few years, there was a similar curiosity to what I suppose true crime obsessives must feel. I had written a review of Brady’s previous film, Breathing Happy, and exchanged a few emails with Zercher. Even though I had only known them in the most referential sense, it came as a jaw-dropping shock to learn they’d been phished out of $20,000. Regardless, there was a strong desire to see how this story, and by proxy the movie they were developing, would turn out.
To give you the backstory, Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma is very much based on a true story. During the pandemic, the couple was putting a down payment on their first home, waiting for an email to wire money to their housing broker. Having dealt with multiple people at the company, an email with a very similar name to the one the employees that they had been conversing with came in, asking for a wire transfer. Then, poof! Their money was gone. This came just as Breathing Happy was set to release, instantly throwing the couple into financial chaos. They humbly went door-to-door selling Rainbow brand vacuums to help offset the loss. Between dealing with law enforcement, their broker, and the bank, there wasn’t much anyone could (or was willing to) do to help them. Plus, law enforcement telling them they had the guy’s address was probably the first stop on creating a revenge fantasy for the ages.
Brady presents all of this in Hacked, with some minor changes. The film starts self-referentially, showing videos of Brady and Zercher’s personal life, as Brady fills the viewer in on what they’re about to see, before it descends into fantastically deranged madness. The incredible Miss Augie Duke (Moon Garden) stands in for Zercher, and Brady, Duke, and their two boys (Owen Atlas and Collin Thompson) embody the everyday Rumble family. Meanwhile, Chandler Riggs (The Walking Dead) assumes the role of their villainous scammer, The Chameleon. Brady occasionally goes off the deep end with his meta commentary, providing moments similar to those in Deadpool comics, allowing a scene to play out for comedic purposes before wiping it completely and resuming the narrative. You could also say it’s like watching Daffy Duck get blown up and having his bill rotate to the back of his head before appearing fine in the next scene. Clearly, this movie is not meant to be taken seriously.
Comedy legend Mel Brooks, director of The Producers, History of the World Part I, and the 1983 remake of To Be or Not to Be, was asked in an interview with Salon what it took to depict Adolf Hitler on screen. His response was “…I just thought the only weapon I’ve really got is comedy. And if I can make this guy ludicrous, if I can make you laugh at him, then it’s a victory of sorts.” Brady pulls a page out of Brooks’ handbook here, creatively diminishing the Chameleon on-screen in every possible way and re-empowering himself in the process.
Riggs’ character delivers lines about stealing from LGBT communities, lusts for his own flatulence, and steals from cancer causes, making it impossible for the audience to empathize with The Chameleon. Then, we get ready to Rumble, as the diegetic family inflicts every possible form of torture that, in at least a couple of scenes, puts the Saw movies to shame for not having thought of some things first. Brady then takes aim at the cops, government agencies, and the brokerage firm who wasted the couple’s time with multiple hold times over two hours, cantankerous bureaucracy, and a whole lot of victim blaming.
Chandler Riggs is marvelously detestable as the antagonist, providing his absurd best as he reteams with his Walking Dead co-star Katelyn Nacon, both of whom stylize their over-the-top roles with fantastic flair. In fact, the film feels kind of like a party that way, where everyone is having a blast bringing these crazy characters to life. Collin Thompson and Little Evil’s Owen Atlas especially shine playing the couple’s fictional sons, adding a splash of teenage nonsense that plays for big laughs.
All of this is met with the lightest touch and high-spirited energy by the man behind the camera, who leans a little heavy on sophomoric comedy and slapstick bits, but for good reason. The film goes off the rails fairly quickly, becoming pretty clear by the time Santa Claus enters, played by a furiously funny Richard Riehle, that Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma is more interested in providing the audience a razor-sharp and fun experience by presenting how the situation has strengthened them as creatives, rather than enacting actual malice, even if they really, really wanted to.
Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma’s themes are relevant, albeit covered in blood, viscera, and absurdity. The movie works on multiple levels, rendering a bit of tenderness in its finale that leaves you feeling good as you watch the family rally around the existential crisis and bond over the darkest shit imaginable.
The result is an utterly unhinged and wildly bonkers experience. If you’ve seen Brady’s heartfelt Breathing Happy, a lovely and thought-provoking dramedy about addiction, Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma shows an entirely different side of the filmmaker, one that’s more akin to watching a speeding train do a loop-de-loop off a jump through a ring of fire that blasts a heavy metal soundtrack while giving one gigantic middle finger to the couple’s hacker and a system failing its citizens. Like so many Florida Man stories, this one is so f*cking nuts, it’s certifiable.
Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fueled Karma held its World Premiere at the Chattanooga Film Festival on Saturday, June 21. You can catch it this week as the virtual edition of the festival continues. Passes can be purchased on the Chattanooga Film Festival website.
Hacked- Special Screening trailer
Don’t miss the ONE NIGHT ONLY theatrical screening of Hacked at the Laemmle NoHo 7 presented by the FirstGlance Film Festivals. Based on true events. When their $20k home deposit is stolen by Florida’s most elusive hacker – The Chameleon- The Rumble family and their mischievous teenage sons decide to go full “John Wick”!
