The Butterfly Effect Is Edgy

Starring: Kelso, Amy Smart, and Rocky Dennis
Written and Directed by: Eric Bress and J. Mackye Gruber

I don't know why, but I often think about this movie. I don't think it's very good and definitely don't find myself enjoying it when I watch it. The Butterfly Effect is a movie I saw when I was like 14 or 15, it sticks in my head alongside movies like 50 First Dates and Boogeyman as movies I watched when my cousin lived with us for six months. However, something about Butterfly Effect just angers me.

I saw it on Tubi recently and I decided to watch it with Gaby. Yes, I show my daughter movies that I don't like on occasion so she can appreciate the movies that I do show her, like Dog Day Afternoon. Watching it though I immediately realized why this movie sticks in my head. Let's travel back to the early 2000s and revisit The Butterfly Effect.

Holy crap is this movie is just dripping in 2000s edge! The movie has Rocky Dennis making child porn with his daughter and the neighbor kid and it just seems to get edgier from there. I think I may have mentioned before about how Halloween 3 is considered edgy because they killed a couple kids in the movie. Dude, this movie has babies being exploded and Kelso from That 70s Show acting out the lyrics of Metallica's One. Then there's the scene where that little shit kid Tommy sets a dog on fire.

It's really hard to watch this movie and not feel like it's trying to be the edgiest thing imaginable. Hell, the movie originally ended with Kelso going back in time and killing himself before he was ever born. This movie is that edgy. I want to say something more about this film but there really isn't much else to say. It perfectly encapsulates this weird time in our culture where all we wanted out of life was to listen to Linkin Park as mom applied our eyeliner. If you want to return to those days, I would definitely suggest watching Butterfly Effect.