Urge (film)

A group of friends enters Man's nightclub, Volcano, where one of them, Jason, is approached by one of the entertainers called the "Red Bastard". Jason follows the Red Bastard with the intention to buy party drugs from him or his employer. Jason is led to a back room of the club where the Man is entertaining some guests. Upon Jason's arrival, the Man cryptically announces that they have been expecting Jason, only to burst out into laughter immediately afterward.

After the others have left, the Man introduces Jason to his drug, a new creation called Urge. The Man explains that Urge is something different from normal party drugs - claiming that it is like a key to unlock what is hidden, it basically tones down a person's sense of morality and strips them of their inhibitions. As the Man continues to speak, Jason cuts him short, explaining his distaste for people who are talking too much. The Man then reveals that he knows private information of Jason's life. The Man then takes his leave, telling Jason that the Red Bastard will lead him out and will be the one to sell him the Urge. The Red Bastard provides Jason with the drug and also warns him that every person may only take the drug once in their lifetime.

After taking a liking to the Urge drug, Jason and his friends start taking it again, however, this time their inhibitions are not only numbed but deactivated completely. This leads to the night taking a dark turn, leading to various severe injuries and even multiple deaths. Furthermore, it is revealed that not only Jason and his friends are taking Urge, the Man has basically provided the entire island with the drug.

Meanwhile, Jason heads to a diner as he cannot be affected by Urge. While he sits down in a booth, the Man joins him. Jason claims that the Man is responsible for the chaos on the island caused by the Urge addiction the Man is creating but the Man replies that he cannot be held accountable for other people taking drugs. He also reminds Jason that he tells every person who takes the drug that they are only allowed to use the drug once in their life. At that moment, Jason is distracted by a girl at the counter and when he looks back into his booth, the Man has vanished without a trace. Upon leaving the diner, Jason witnesses a man jumping in front of a driving truck. Jason rushes him to a hospital where he realizes the true extent of the drug, dozens of people are brought in because of wounds caused under Urge influence. The Urge eventually results in the entire island running amok while each person fulfils their deepest desires.

Eventually, Jason and his last living friend Joey, escape the island via boat. Exhausted, both fall asleep immediately after boarding the ship. When Jason wakes up again, he finds the ship taken over by the Man and his cronies. Jason disarms one of the men and heads upstairs where he confronts the man at gunpoint. He then demands to know why the Man plans to kill every person on the island, only for the Man to reply that he did not even lift a finger. Outraged, Jason demands to know whether the Man intends to play God and to smite the weak, only for the man to reveal that he is God and that Jason will be the one to do the smiting. He claims that Jason will bring Urge to the mainland to eradicate humanity, a flawed creation, for good but Jason refuses. Furious, the Man shows Jason an apocalyptic vision of the future. Once Jason snaps out of the vision, the Man has once again disappeared without a trace.

Although it is not shown what happens to Jason after Man's disappearance, a chaos similar to that created on the island breaks out on the mainland, with people mindlessly slaughtering and hurting each other, implying that Man's scheme was successful

• Pierce Brosnan as The Man
• Ashley Greene as Theresa
• Justin Chatwin as Jason Brettner
• Alexis Knapp as Joey
• Danny Masterson as Neal
• Kea Ho as Xiomara
• Bar Paly as Denise
• Chris Geere as Vick
• Nick Thune as Danny
• Jeff Fahey as Gerald
• Alison Lohman as Mother

On September 29, 2014, Pierce Brosnan joined the cast.[2] On October 2, 2014, Ashley Greene joined the cast.[3] On October 7, 2014, Danny Masterson joined the cast.[4] On October 14, 2014, Alexis Knapp, Bar Paly, Chris Geere and Nick Thune joined the cast.[5] On October 24, 2014, Justin Chatwin joined the cast.[6]

The film was released on June 3, 2016, in a limited release and through video on demand by Lionsgate Premiere.[9] The film was released on Blu-ray and DVD on September 6, 2016.[10]

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 0%, based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 1.5/10.[11] Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com called the film "a movie that’s as empty and unlikable as the characters themselves" in her 1-star review[12] Frank Scheck, writing for The Hollywood Reporter, while enjoying "a dapper Pierce Brosnan gleefully hamming it up as a devil-like figure" otherwise panned the film, saying "Audiences tempted to catch Urge in its limited theatrical release or on VOD would be well-advised to remember Nancy Reagan's famous advice: Just say no."[13]

• Urge at IMDb
• Urge at Rotten Tomatoes