Search - Black Circle Boys on DVD

A disturbing little film that's too close to reality

J. J. Sargent | Waterbury, CT United States | 06/02/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here's a very disturbing little film. It's about a young guy called Kyle (Scott Bairstow White Fang 2, The Postman, Party of Five (tv)) whose family moves to a new (and boring) little town and he ends up attending a new high school -- trying to fit in, trying to deal with being the new guy and also trying to cope with the death of his best friend. He goes from A student to loser in forty-five minutes, giving up being a top athlete in exchange for the acceptance of a group of heavy metal wannabes and large amounts of drugs - virtually everything from pot to lsd to crack. His life spirals out of control. He ends up joining the BCB who are a small group of these high school losers who practice an invented brand of Satanism in the wooded state park behind the high school. The group's leader Shane (Eric Mabius (Party of Five (tv), Lawn Dogs, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is severely disturbed and influenced by drug dealer/fence Greggo (Donnie Wahlberg yeah, that one -- New Kids on the Block, baby) who is the local Temple of Set devil worshiper who recruits local high school losers and gets them to rob houses for him in exchange for drugs.The plot moves along slowly as Kyle sinks into this realm of madness, but once there, it spins wildly out of control -- there is much violence (including sick satanic rituals where the Shane kills a cat and then they dig up a skeleton) and even murder. The acting is superb, and makes the overall effect of the film that much more disturbing.Where are first it appears to be just another high school nostalgia film (heck, it looked like my high school), it becomes this horror film -- but way too realistic. One keeps asking, "where are the parents, where are the cops" as these lowlifes rampage through the town pillaging and killing and just making all sorts of mayhem.In the end, Kyle must fight the demons which are pulling him under, and the second half of the film chronicles his attempts to overcome the darkness which threatens to consume and destroy him."

Two thumbs up

J. J. Sargent | 04/27/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In my opinion this movie is exactly what you would expect it to be. Sure it is vulgar, sure there are a lot of explicits throughout the movie and much drug use, but it is what it is. Scott's charachter is coming to grips with his friends death and looking to fit in and rebel where ever he can. It is a dark movie not suited for children, but if this is the type of movie that you enjoy and go into it knowing that it is dark, vulgar and morbid, and that is what you want to see at the moment then you get what you rented. No this is not what teens are like, nor is TX Chainsaw real either, the point is just sit back and either enjoy it or hate it, but I give it 4 out of 5 stars. It is what it is."

"Evil Is... As Evil Does"

J. J. Sargent | 08/15/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"When I bought this movie awhile back, I knew practically nothing about it, except that Scott Bairstow was in it, one of my favorite actors. Even if he hadn't starred in it, I would have enjoyed it anyway."Black Circle Boys", which is based on a true story, follows Kyle Sullivan (played by Scott Bairstow), who is a lonely teenager new to town and gets involved with a Satanic group of guys known as the Black Circle Boys. They spend all of their time getting wasted, beating people up (including their high school security guard), breaking into homes, and pretty much doing anything else destructive and illegal. The leader of the group, Shane Carver (Eric Mabius), is completely psychotic and, from the beginning, let's Kyle know he shouldn't make an enemy out of him, which of course Kyle does when he wants to leave the group.For the most part, "Black Circle Boys" is a pretty dark film. If you can handle watching most of the things I mentioned above (i.e., drug use, strong profanity, and violence, which escalates to a couple of murders), then you'll probably be ok with this movie. I thought the acting was terrific, the characters were believable, and the moody Northwest setting was perfect (filmed around where I live: in the Puget Sound area). For Lisa Loeb fans, the singer makes a small appearance in a bar as the "angry woman" who tries to attack Shane as the group first walks in. Blink and you'll miss it.The only thing that bothered me about "Black Circle Boys" was the cat killing scene, which is why I gave this movie a "4" instead of a "5". The scene isn't very graphic, for those who are squeamish, but I'm not very tolerant about killing animals. Other than that, this is a great film. Highly recommended."

Eric Mabius at his best (so far)

black_circle_girl | NYC, NY | 08/07/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is just simply the best! The acting was great, the plot realistic, and Eric Mabius was hot! Eric's portrayal of Shane Carver just blew me away! He portrayed every aspect of Shane well and he made me feel sympathy for him. I urge people to check out this movie just to see Eric in a major role, were he deserves to be. There is a lot of drug use and violence in this movie, so if you don't want to see either I suggest you don't rent this movie. You probably won't like it. There are two or three somewhat brutal scenes and most of what the BCB does is in relation to how much drugs they have done or how much they need. If you were okay watching Blade or the camp-fire feeding scene of the Lost Boys then you won't think this is so bad."