#TIFF26: “KICK ON” REVIEW

By Amanda Gilmore

Kick On is a wild ride drenched in gruesome gore.

Eden (Markella Kavenagh) has a terminally ill sister in the hospital who wants her to live her life for the both of them. So when the opportunity arises for her and her friends to embark on an all-night rager, she succumbs to the peer pressure. She quickly regret her decision when she ends up trapped inside drug-dealer Ray’s (Nikolai Nikolaeff), son of a volatile mobster, apartment.

Kick On is a high-octane siege thriller that feels made to play TIFF’s Midnight Madness. It’s wacky, gory and action packed the whole way through. Screenwriter Phillip Klimek has constructed a blood-soaked ultra-violent nightmare for Eden that Director Nick Kozakis sets ablaze. There are many gun shots, head explosions and spluttering blood to please any horror audience.

By the midway point, you’ll think that you’ve seen it all. But the filmmakers continue to build to a crescendo that’s continuously gnarlier than the last. With so much to offer, Kick On lacks in message. This feels like a straightforward survival thriller with nothing to say. However, we did have the time of our lives watching it!

Kick On screens at TIFF ’26:

Mon. Sept 14 @ 11:59 PM at Royal Alexandra Theatre

Wed. Sept 16 @ 6:45 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Fri. Sept 18 @ 8:50 PM at Scotiabank Theatre Toronto