• Consequence
  • Music
  • Film
  • TV
  • Heavy
Menu Consequence
Menu Shop Search Newsletter
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Live
  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Contest
Advertisement
  • Reviews
  • Film Reviews

Tribeca Film Review: King Cobra

The true-crime tale lands in a palatable space between camp and genuine pathos

B-

Directed by

  • Justin Kelly

Starring

  • James Franco
  • Molly Ringwald
  • Alicia Silverstone
  • Christian Slater

Release Year

  • 2016
Advertisement
Nico Lang
April 25, 2016 | 7:00pm ET

    tribecaFollow our coverage of the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival here.

    King Cobra is a movie that’s just good enough to make you wish it were even better. Directed by Justin Kelly (I Am Michael), the film is certainly one of a kind. Before it premiered King Cobra was labeled the “gay porn murder movie,” detailing the real-life 2007 homicide of hardcore producer Bryan Kocis (Christian Slater). Kocis was killed by two men, known in the film as Harlow (Keegan Allen) and Joe (James Franco), who covet the producer’s most prized possession: Brent Corrigan.

    Played by former Disney star Garrett Clayton, 17-year-old Corrigan (neé Sean Lockhart) dreams of being a filmmaker. To move out of his mother’s home, however, he settles for a spot on Kocis’ couch, quickly becoming the gay porn industry’s newest “It Boy.” Corrigan later clashes with Kocis, a controlling manipulator who pays him much less than the young star knows he deserves. Per his contract, Corrigan earns just $1,000 a video. He demands to be paid $10,000. Given the fact that Kocis just bought a Maserati, Corrigan knows his boss is good for it.

    Related Video

    It’s within the same storytelling tradition as All About Eve and the backstage showbiz dramas of the 1940s and ‘50s, in which a woman’s ambition was a weapon of mass destruction: an aspiring actress leaves home to become a star. In order to ascend to the throne, the protagonist must depose the queen that came before her. Where the duplicitous, cunning Eve Harrington knew how to play the game, the wide-eyed, innocent Corrigan is in over his head. The budding talent meets with other producers to sign with them, but the problem is that, as Kocis reminds him, Brent Corrigan doesn’t exist. He’s Kocis’ legal property.

    Advertisement

    Like Dirk Diggler in Boogie Nights, Corrigan is less a person than an object onto which others project their desires. For Kocis, the young man represents an opportunity the producer never had. Kocis, who was 45 at the time of his death, came of age during the HIV crisis, a terrifying, isolating time to be gay in the United States. “You’ve got the Internet to so you never have to feel alone,” Kocis tells Corrigan. “I feel like I’m just making up for lost time.”

    If the baby-faced Clayton is a capable blank slate, it’s Christian Slater who makes their scenes together pop. In movies like Heathers and True Romance, the star spent his early career imitating Jack Nicholson. When Slater hosted Saturday Night Live back in 1991, he defended himself against accusations that his onscreen delivery, always with a wry smirk, was intended to rip-off the beloved actor. Two and a half decades later, Slater appears to have taken the criticism to heart. Now 46, his former heartthrob looks have grown into something far more distinctive and interesting. His weathered features have taken shape and definition, his high cheekbones turning razor-sharp with age.

    The Slater of today cuts an inscrutable, slightly fearsome presence. He’s become the kind of man you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. And coming off his Golden Globe win for Mr. Robot, he’s rarely been better than he is here. His Bryan Kocis is both carnivorous, eyeing Corrigan like a panther hungering for a field mouse, and wounded. The character could have been a cartoon image of a seedy producer who preys on young men, but Slater gives him a soul.

    Advertisement

    Outside of these scenes, however, King Cobra is hobbled by miscasting. Alicia Silverstone’s appearance is enjoyable as a piece of movie trivia: In Clueless, she played Cher Horowitz, who attempts to cheer up a forlorn friend by offering to take her to see the “new Christian Slater.” But as Corrigan’s supportive mother, who thinks that her son has landed a coveted internship, Silverstone is implausible. Silverstone is a decent comedienne, but she has no eye for camp; if the film constantly tows the line of kitsch, her performance is the wrong kind of bad. Eighties icon Molly Ringwald also pops in as Kocis’ sister, but her presence is distracting; she’s simply too famous for such a minuscule role.

    Allen and Franco are better at playing vapid killers driven by desperation, and it’s clear that Kelly sees this story as In Cold Blood set in the adult entertainment industry. Harlow and Joe hope to launch their own porn empire, called Viper Boyz, and they know that snaring Corrigan will make their website into an A-list destination. They are determined to get him, at whatever cost. A scene-chewing Franco, who helped produce the film, is clearly in General Hospital mode. His performance is intentionally over the top, twisting his proverbial moustache with abandon, but it’s intermittently enjoyable. Franco knows what kind of movie he’s in.

    As a visual filmmaker, Justin Kelly certainly gets the look and the feel of this world exactly right. Defiantly unpolished, King Cobra is filmed in low-gloss hues. Set in the fenced-off backyards and swimming pools of Southern California, all of the expensively seedy décor (a kind of nouveau retch) isn’t nearly as glamorous as its characters seem to believe. Tim Kvasnosky’s electronic score, reminiscent of Drive, is effective at highlighting this discrepancy.

    Advertisement

    What the film lacks is much of any commentary on the adult entertainment industry itself. As a satire of SoCal gay porn subculture, King Cobra could have been a little blacker, a little funnier, and a lot naughtier. Kelly often holds back when he should be digging in, afraid to get too close to his characters. During a scene where Corrigan discusses working with Viper Boyz — and potentially gives them the greenlight to kill Kocis — Kelly films them in a long shot that feels overly detached. King Cobra never goes more than skin deep, but at least the surface is nice to look at.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
Advertisement

More on this topic

  • Alicia Silverstone
  • Christian Slater
  • Garrett Clayton
  • James Franco
  • Justin Kelly
  • Keegan Allen
  • Molly Ringwald
  • Tribeca 2016 Coverage
  • Tribeca Film Festival

Sign up for updates

Subscribe to our email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.

Advertisement

Popular Stories

lcd soundsystem boygenius steve lacy reset concert series

Music

boygenius, LCD Soundsystem, Steve Lacy to Headline Re:SET Concert Series

borat broke up pamela anderson and kid rock love pamela with love memoir documentary dating

Film

Borat Broke Up Pamela Anderson and Kid Rock

Advertisement

Shop for GWAR's Bud of Gods Delta-8 and Sour OG vape cartridges.

Shop for GWAR's Bud of Gods Delta-8 and Sour OG vape cartridges.

King of the Hill (FOX)

TV

King of the Hill to Air New Episodes on Hulu

noah weiland goodbye good riddance

Heavy Consequence

Noah Weiland Shares Emotional New Single "Good Riddance & Goodbye": Stream

Latest Stories

Sundance 2023 Film Reviews

Sundance 2023 Review Roundup: The Best Films We Saw This Year

January 30, 2023

A-
Infinity Pool Review Alexander Skarsgard

Infinity Pool Sends You Down a Road of Hedonistic Excess (In a Good Way): Review

January 27, 2023

B+
Netflix You people

You People Review: Eddie Murphy and Jonah Hill Star in a Funny and Refreshing Update of a Familiar Tale

January 27, 2023

B-
Jamojaya Rich Brian Sundance Review

Rich Brian Juggles Family, Music, and Culture in Jamojaya: Sundance Review

January 25, 2023

B-
Cat Person Review Nicholas Braun

The New Yorker Bad-Date Story Gets Frustratingly Literal in Cat Person: Sundance Review

January 25, 2023

B+
shortcomings review randall park

Randall Park's Shortcomings Playfully Pokes at the Arthouse World: Sundance Review

January 24, 2023

B+
You Hurt My Feelings Review

Sundance Review: Julia Louis-Dreyfus Learns the Cost of Honesty in the Hilarious You Hurt My Feelings

January 24, 2023

A-
theater camp review

Sundance Review: The Hilarious and Authentic Theater Camp Takes Center Stage

January 23, 2023

Advertisement

News

  • Music
  • New Music
  • Album Streams
  • Upcoming Releases
  • Tours
  • Film
  • TV
  • Pop Culture

Reviews

  • Music Reviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • Concert Reviews
  • Festival Reviews

Features

  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Cover Stories
  • Lists
  • Guides
  • CoSign
  • Song of the Week

Live

  • Tickets
  • Festival News
  • Tour Dates
  • Photo Galleries
  • Music Instruments & Gear

Heavy

  • News
  • Interviews
  • Concerts

More

  • Podcasts
  • Videos
  • Wellness
  • Giveaways

Other sites

  • Heavy Consequence
  • Consequence Media
  • Modern Drummer
  • About
  • Privacy policy
  • Advertising
  • Work For Us
  • Terms
  • Contact
  • Copyright
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Download our app

  • Get it on the App Store
  • Get it on Google Play
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • Tiktok
Consequence
Current story

Tribeca Film Review: King Cobra

Menu Shop Search Newsletter
Consequence
News
  • News
  • Music
  • New Music
  • Album Streams
  • Upcoming Releases
  • Tours
  • Film
  • TV
  • Pop Culture
Reviews
  • Music Reviews
  • Film Reviews
  • TV Reviews
  • Concert Reviews
  • Festival Reviews
Features
  • All Features
  • Editorials
  • Interviews
  • Cover Stories
  • Lists
  • Guides
  • CoSign
  • Song of the Week
Live
  • Tickets
  • Festival News
  • Tour Dates
  • Photo Galleries
  • Music Instruments & Gear
Podcasts
  • The Opus
  • Kyle Meredith With...
  • Stanning BTS
  • The Story Behind the Song
  • The What
  • Going There with Dr. Mike
  • The Rome and Duddy Show
Videos
  • Interviews
  • Two for the Road
  • First Time I Heard
  • When I Made
  • Battle of the Bandmates
  • Peer 2 Peer
  • Essays
  • Fan Theories
Heavy
  • News
  • Interviews
  • Concerts
  • Premieres
  • Culture
  • Beyond the Boys Club
  • Mining Metal
Shop
  • Shop
  • Giveaways

Follow Consequence

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitch
  • Tiktok
Close
Close
 

Loading Comments...