Nate (Keith Poulson) is a young, post-grad photographer drifting through the hyper-competitive New York City art scene, desperately waiting for his big break while watching his peers climb the ladder of success. His breakthrough arrives not from high-society galas, but through a drug-fueled YouTube wormhole that leads him straight to the Young Torture Killaz (YTK)—an Insane Clown Posse knock-off rap-rock group operating out of a basement in rural Delaware.
Seeing an opportunity for an artistic ethnographic photography project, Nate and his friend Bernadette (Sophia Takal) drive out to the sticks to immerse themselves in YTK’s world. After ingratiating himself with the band, fueled by sketchy promises and pharmaceutical perks like purple drink, Nate takes a series of raw, shocking photos. Back in Brooklyn, ambitious gallery owner Olivier LaFleur champions the work for a splashy debut exhibition at his new gallery. However, Nate’s artistic ambitions come with a heavy cost: he betrays the trust of the group—specifically ignoring leader Killa Rusty’s warnings about his parole—setting the stage for a savage, ironic reckoning when the rural subculture crashes head-first into the pretentious New York art elite.
Blurring fiction and reality, director Michael M. Bilandic actually uploaded the YTK music video for “I’ll Cut Yo Dick Off” to YouTube as a standalone piece ahead of the film’s festival run, successfully tricking real-world platforms and hip-hop culture pages into engaging with the fictional band.
Director and writer Michael M. Bilandic has made something incredible. The dread of the show coming and Nate not realizing that he’s become the bad guy is so intense. Make some time to watch this. I hated Nate, but would completely hang out with the YTK.
You can watch it on Tubi or get the Factory 25 blu-ray from Vinegar Syndrome.
