Heat Score, the gritty crime-comedy-thriller from co-directors Devin and Robert Burkosky, wears its greasy heart right there on its sleeve. Set deep within the gritty underworld of Edmonton, this takes place in the 1990s, a place where Vince Valcone, once the toast of the local adult entertainment scene, has fallen on hard times. He’s running on fumes, cheap lines of coke, and explosive anger. When a desperate audition blows up in his face, and his landlord threatens to throw him out, Vince’s buddy Smokey throws him a lifeline with a gig at Armando’s strip club for ladies’ night.
Vince steps up, tears the house down and catches the eye of the club’s owner, Armando Von Helmsley. But Armando isn’t just a local nightlife impresario; he’s the kingpin of the Edmonton drug trade. Soon, Vince is moonlighting as a heavy-hitting debt collector and slinging crack, all while falling into a dangerous affair with a woman named Vivian. The catch? Vivian is Armando’s wife, and she’s looking to use Vince as a blunt instrument to hijack the entire criminal empire for herself. Add competing mob factions and undercover plants into the mix, and you’ve got a pressure cooker ready to blow.
This comes from The Burkosky Brothers. Hailing from Alberta, Devin and Robert Burkosky poured their love for regional, no-budget genre filmmaking into Heat Score, utilizing local Edmonton backdrops and talent to craft an unapologetic throwback. This is raw, independent genre filmmaking working without a safety net. It’s dirty, it’s frantic, and it refuses to apologize for what it is. I love that one Letterboxd reviewer was not ready for the sheer depravity of this.
The GenreBlast Film Festival is a one-of-a-kind film experience created for both filmmakers and film lovers, celebrating genre filmmaking in an approachable environment. Described by Movie Maker Magazine as Summer Camp for Filmmakers, we screen the latest in independent, cult, niche and underground films that aren’t easily accessible. Other events include filmmaker Q&As, special guests, giveaways, after-parties, and an awards ceremony. The GenreBlast team is hard at work creating a destination event that will have the independent film industry talking about it all year long. GenreBlast is a festival for filmmakers, by filmmakers, that strives to become one of the best independent film festivals around. We celebrate the finest in true genre cinema, and we look for the best features, shorts, animation, music videos and screenplays you have to offer. For more info and tickets, visit the site.
