A nonstop neon-soaked bloodbath awaits audiences in Nick Kozakis’s latest feature, Kick On.
Eden (Markella Kavenagh) and her friends are celebrating before Lee (Kaitlyn Boyé) goes off to Peru. After being thrown out of a nightclub for fighting – a fight in which Lee’s brother Zack (Nikita Chronis) swears he was just defending his sister – they don’t want the night to end. However, to keep the party going, they need more cocaine. Zack has a sketchy hookup in a high-rise apartment building, and they reluctantly make their way there. Roman (Nikolai Nikolaeff), who goes by Ray, fancies himself a nonstop party host, and coerces the friend group to take ketamine and have some drinks with him before they get their coke. But something goes wrong, and the night takes a sharp turn down a dark road, and there’s no going back. Eden and friends have to find a way out of Ray’s apartment, preferably alive.
What gives the film its high stakes is the empathy viewers will feel for the characters. In the small friend group, there are siblings, lovers, and friends, and the relationships are all many years old and their love runs deep. When they get into trouble, they all look out for one another, as evidenced by Lee fighting for his sister, and everyone leaving the club when he got thrown out. Unfortunately, this means they all go to Ray’s together, which leads to trouble. They walk into Ray’s crew, friends which he alternates between calling brothers, insulting, and barking orders. The dynamic at Ray’s is that no one wants to anger him, even when they disagree. Ray has the painting The Death of Julius Caesar (Camuccini) on his wall, because he sees himself as a perfect leader always in danger of being betrayed. On top of everything, there is the dark threat of Ray’s father, a Russian mobster who is simultaneously always disappointed in his son and cleaning up after him. The implication is that if anything goes wrong, Daddy will be mad, but he will fix it.
Kick On is impossible to turn away from, with a look and feel of a perfectly balanced action film. The aesthetic is neon darkened by fear, where almost every scene is made to look like a party, but increasingly it loses its sheen and becomes sickening. Both action fans and horror fans will love the practical gore effects. The gunshots are especially over-the-top, in an indulgent way.
The gore is unrealistic, like horrifying cartoon violence, which makes it more accessible for anyone squeamish about realistic gore. The stunts and fights are a joy to watch, with just enough physical comedy to lighten the mood, such as a dildo thrown like a knife, and a ring of keys sticking out of someone’s cheek. Kozakis allows enough room to breathe between fight scenes, so audiences won’t run out of steam watching one continuous brawl. Kick On is a raucous, satisfying ride for anyone who loves action films, stories of nights gone wrong, and gangsters with a legacy to protect.
Kick On had its US premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026 on Saturday, September 19
