Watch Trash Fire

Trash Fire is a movie directed by Richard Bates Jr. that was released in 2016. The movie stars Adrian Grenier, Angela Trimbur, Fionnula Flanagan, and AnnaLynne McCord in lead roles. This dark comedy-drama is a tragic love story masked as a horror film with numerous twists and turns. The film is set in Southern California and follows Owen (Grenier), a disgruntled, misanthropic young man dealing with the lingering pain from his past.

Owen is in a toxic relationship with Isabelle (McCord), a woman with a deep set of problems. The couple is so consumed with their individual secrets that they cannot communicate with each other. Isabelle wants to start a family while Owen is fearful of his past and is unwilling to have children. One could sense that the relationship is doomed from the start, with both individuals struggling to keep it alive without being honest with each other.

The first half of the movie is slow, and we are left to wonder, what is going on? However, it picks up momentum and transforms into something that one would never expect. With a sudden turn of events, Owen's estranged Christian grandmother, Violet (Flanagan), appears in his life once again, and he is forced to confront the ghosts of his past. Violet is a bitter, abusive old woman who exudes cruelty and contempt wherever she casts her gaze upon. Her relationship with Owen's sister, Pearl (Trimbur), is rocky, and the two have not been in contact for years.

The story proceeds as Owen decides to visit Violet and re-establish a connection with her to help to nurse their troubled relationship. Ironically, it's Violet who asks Owen to re-connect with his sister Pearl, whom she had never welcomed as part of her family. Owen and Isabelle decide to take a road trip and visit Pearl, and the story takes a twisted turn. Pearl lives in a ramshackle house with her severely disabled boyfriend, and the couple is expecting a baby daughter any day now. After arriving at Pearl's, Owen and Isabelle begin to see that Pearl and her boyfriend are not at all what they expected.

The movie takes on a new dimension when Owen and Isabelle discover some terrifying secrets of Pearl's past. The couple quickly learns that Pearl's boyfriend, played by Matthew Gray Gubler, has some dark secrets of his own. They realize that they are now in danger and need to make a quick escape. What follows is a series of thrilling and harrowing experiences, as Owen and Isabelle attempt to escape from an abusive relationship and Gothic revelation.

Throughout the movie, there are flashes of humor delivered through Owen's sarcastic and cynical one-liners. Despite being a horror film, the movie also contains several moments of suspense and reflective tenderness. However, the standout for the film is Fionnula Flanagan's fierce portrayal of Violet. She is typically excellent at playing this type of manipulative character and lifts the film to the next level.

Trash Fire deals with themes of love, loss, and family trauma, and how this trauma can follow us wherever we go. It's about making amends and forgiveness, but more importantly, it's an exploration of the human psyche and the struggle of overcoming pain. The film is overall a compelling, eerie, lonesome, and disturbing one that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.

Trash Fire is a 2016 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.9 and a MetaScore of 42.