If the folks behind Funny or Die did an R-rated spoof of Home Alone, their parody would most likely bear a passing resemblance to Steven C. Miller‘s The Aggression Scale.  The home-invasion thriller isn’t owned by Chris Columbus’ 1990 family comedy, but when you make a blond pre-teen kid the defender of the home, the comparison is inevitable.  While a darker Home Alone with R-rated violence may seem like a promising prospect, The Aggression Scale seems stuck at “insane badass kid dishes out bloody vengeance.”  Although Miller opens his movie with a bravura opening sequence and manages to hold on to some semblance of tension, the thrills die down by giving Superboy all the power.

From director Steven C. Miller (Automaton Transfusion) comes The Aggression Scale, the story of a war between four heavily armed hitmen and two teenagers over $500,000 in cash. Though the action thriller is set to premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, Anchor Bay has preemptively picked up the rights. Screening as part of the Midnighter lineup, The Aggression Scale has been described as “A History of Violence with teens as the lead roles” and is “in the spirit of the 1980s canon.” Written by Ben Powell (Satanic), the film stars Ray Wise (RoboCop), Dana Ashbrook (Twin Peaks) and Derek Mears (Predators) in addition to an up-and-coming young cast. I wasn’t convinced to pay this film any attention until I watched the brutal trailer. Do yourself a favor and hit the jump to check it out.