Director: Benjamin Arfmann
Writer: Brian McAuley
Starring: Kent Osborne, Dylan Sprouse, Rae Gray, Alycia Delmore, and more.

Requested Review from Chris Ebbert!

The Intro:
“Dismissed” came across my radar unexpectedly one day as my lady stumbled upon the film from being a fan of the Sprouse brothers from their younger days. We watched this trailer, thought it was intriguing and that was the last of that. Now, we stumble upon the film being on Netflix and here I am watching the film then realizing that it was requested by my friend Chris. Completely forgot and so now here we are with a impromptu Requested Review on “Dismissed” starring Dylan Sprouse! I truly hope the film holds up in comparison to the trailer because it does give me a good amount of hype leading up to my watch.

IMDB Summary:
“An idealistic, straight-edge teacher is drawn down a horrid rabbit hole by an honors student when he gives him a B+ on a paper.”

The Oberrating:
You know, that IMDB Summary is absolutely terrible. It sounds childish and absolutely silly. I SWEAR the film is much better than what that summary presents. The power in Dylan Sprouse’s performance alone is what makes this film impressive. He is chilling and compelling. It is scary how great of a psychopath he plays. The final act on its own, his hollowed “off-the-hinges” performance is great. Unfortunately, I find his performance and the mystery of what comes next as the only two elements of this film that truly raises the bar for “Dismissed”. I found myself annoyed by other performances as well as the decisions made by the characters within the film. The lead character, Mr. Butler (Kent Osborne), bounces back and forth from being the geeky English nerd professor to an attempted “mess with me and die” attitude and it just feels off putting. The other supporting characters, as well, just overall feel awkward. If Sprouse wasn’t so strong, this film would have fell completely flat.

The Wrap-Up:
For a low budget thriller, this film is impressive with all things considered. Again, Dylan Sprouse and the overall thriller element that stems from his performance and the mystery of the film is what single-handedly drives this film. This film is on Netflix and is absolutely worth at least one watch. I have high hopes for the Sprouse’s future in entertainment as Cole is owning his role in the popular show “Riverdale” and it seems Dylan is not so far behind.

Rating: 2.5/5

References:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5039994/?ref_=nv_sr_1
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5039994/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast