Rick Alverson’s The Comedy is like a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It might have a genial name and star comedian Tim Heidecker, but this film will not have you rolling in the aisles—unless you are seriously sadistic. Prompting walk-outs and other adverse reactions at screenings, this low-budget indie follows an aging mean-spirited trust-fund kid named Swanson as he bumper-cars his way through life. Spending his time split between the bedside of his ailing father and the cocoon of his slacker circle of friends, played by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, Eric Wareheim of Tim & Eric, and Gregg Turkington AKA Neil Hamburger, Swanson is a restless soul who tries to stir the pot and is violently inappropriate. However, lurking beneath that caustic exterior must be someone in need of connection. Extremely dark, The Comedy is more haunted than a horror film.

The Comedy is a Tribeca Films release.

(Originally appeared on Flavorpill.com in November 2012)