// THE VERGE — GAMING
Vintage Violence is an absurdist crime thriller for phone addicts
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Reviews from TIFF 2026: Vintage Violence, Ken Russell’s The Devils in 4K, and Gentle Monster.
Reviews from TIFF 2026: Vintage Violence, Ken Russell’s The Devils in 4K, and Gentle Monster.
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There are a lot of movies that have tried to seamlessly integrate modern tech — text messages, livestreams, etc. — into their storytelling. Some of the most novel attempts have been in the genre space, like the Twitch-style horror flick Deadstream. But the most chaotic to date might just be Vintage Violence, an absurd crime thriller with lots of blood, jokes, and screentime.
I was able to catch Vintage Violence, the latest from director Eugene Kotlyarenko, on my fifth day at the Toronto International Film Festival. Kotlyarenko has previously explored our hyper-connected culture in 2020’s Spree, a movie in which Stranger Things’ Joe Keery plays a rideshare driver who starts murdering passengers while livestreaming the crimes. But Vintage Violence takes things a step further by trying to replicate what it’s like to constantly be on your phone as the movie plays out. It’s a lot to take in, but I really enjoyed it. Unfortunately there isn’t a trailer yet to give you a better sense of how things work onscreen, but I’ll make sure to share it when they do release one.
Vintage Violence was one of three films I took in on day 5 of TIFF 2026; the others were a 4K restoration of a cult classic and a devastating drama that’s on its way to Netflix. Here are my thoughts on all three.