Inexchange
(2005)
review by Don't Feed the Dead

The human psyche is a delicate and fragile entity. Everytime I turn on the Maury Povich show I see persons battling their inner demons to become in their minds, "redeemed". Ah, who the fuck am I kidding? Talk shows are smattered with showmen and bad acors, and the human element has been sucked dry of most media types these days. But the again, has it? Zack Parker's Inexchange is a homage to humanist horror, where the mind of a living being is utilized as its most dangerous weapon. As the Shining and Carrie showed audiences, the subconscious can be very powerful, and very lethal.

Poor Maury is a college freshman who is constantly abused and taken advantage of by his peers. Reluctant to "fit in", Maury isolates himself in his dorm room and primarily focuses on school work despite the pleas of his roommate. However, one night Maury is invited out with the promise of hanging out with the one girl he's sweet on. Initially, Maury refuses to interact with other socialites fearing he will be made a fool of in some way. But when his roommate gives a long speech about the failures of being a recluse, Maury reconsiders and shows up.

Playing it off like he's the guest of honor, Maury's roommate and the "cool" kids treat him like a king - feeding him a constant stream of booze and attention. Shitfaced and unaware of his present surroundings, Maury lets his guard down and binges on the liquor. Seizing the moment of opportunity, Maury's roommate and his friends bind him to a chair and bring him back to sobriety with a group golden shower. Humiliated in front of the party goers, Maury runs off back towards the campus dormitory. However, someone is following Maury and they're about to give him the opportunity of redemption for the night's activities.

I always emphasize how I value substance over style, and in the case of Inexchange I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of "meat" the plot had. Of course, we've all personally encountered a "Maury" in our lifetime, and Parker's exploration into the topic of redemption through psychosis makes you think "what if?" What if the kid that was always picked on one day snapped and decided to exact revenge? Such evidence of this instance was in the Columbine High school shootings, and more recently the school shootings in Minnesota. So Inexchange holds a great deal of relevance and unfortunately, truth to it. When pushed too far, some people do actually retaliate.

Although far from perfect, Inexchange gives a glimpse of hope to those of us craving up and coming directors like Zack Parker, who rely heavily on story and plot execution to entertain. Creating a successful Independent film is difficult enough, but Parker and Co. do so in a fashion that is both relevant and meaningful to today's societal issues. I look forward to seeing Parker's name attached to films, and hopefully the folks at Along the Tracks will produce more fine titles like Inexchange in the near future.