Tone-Deaf (2019) ***

I wouldn't say that Tone-Deaf (2019) lives up to its title (thankfully), but I would say that its tone is muddled. There are flashes of the brilliance that Richard Bates Jr. showed in his feature debut, Excision (2012) (my review here), but Tone-Deaf is neither as dark as that film or as whimsical as his follow-up, 2014's Suburban Gothic (my review here). I don't love all the choices here, and this is easily my least favorite Bates Jr. film so far (I'm going to rewatch Trash Fire (2016) soon so we'll see if I still like that one more than this). Still, there is fun to be had in this boomer vs. millennial horror comedy and it's a well-made movie with some great sound design. The director's newest, King Knight (2021) is streaming soon and I am interested to see how it fares.

You can find my Richard Bates Jr. Feature Films Ranked list here.