Extremely Graphic, R-Rated Thriller On Netflix Is A Suburban Sprawl Murder Spree

By Robert Scucci
| Published 27 seconds ago

Danny McBride is one of those actors I love to watch because no matter what character he takes on, he’s still reliably Danny McBride. It doesn’t matter if he’s a stoned slacker or a straight-up psychopath. He adapts to the role, but there’s always a hint of Kenny Powers energy lurking just beneath the surface. His murder rampage in 2018’s Arizona is a perfect showcase of his range. His rage takes over, but he’s still kind of a bumbling mess when things escalate, which makes the film funnier than it has any right to be.

It’s About To Get Real For The Realtors

Set in a sprawling Southwestern subdivision in 2009, Arizona introduces us to struggling real estate agent Cassie Fowler (Rosemarie DeWitt), who’s on the verge of bankruptcy because she can’t sell pre-fab houses in the middle of nowhere during an active housing crisis. Her boss, Gary (Seth Rogen), knows he set her up for failure, but he’s more concerned with moving units than being honest with his clients. One such client, known only as Sonny (Danny McBride), barges into the office and gets into a fatal confrontation with Gary. Cassie witnesses the deadly scuffle, making her a loose end for Sonny, who knocks her out and brings her back to his house, located in the same neighborhood she lives.

Rightfully terrified, Cassie’s main concerns are making sure her 14-year-old daughter, Morgan (Lolli Sorenson), is safe and getting in contact with her ex-husband, Scott (Luke Wilson), who might be able to reach the authorities. She’d call the police herself, but since we’re dealing with a relatively new, mostly unoccupied property development, it’s not exactly easy to get an officer to respond with any sense of urgency.

This brings us to the source of Arizona’s conflict. Sonny, having been promised by Gary that his property would only increase in value, experiences the exact opposite. After wiping out his savings, he’s stuck in the middle of nowhere with his ex-wife, Vikki (Kaitlin Olson), with no buyer to bail him out. The film takes place during the housing crisis and taps into the desperation of someone who “did everything right” but still faces financial ruin and years of hardship.

Sonny digs himself deeper when he accidentally kills Vikki and realizes Morgan is likely back at Cassie’s house, wondering where her mother is. What follows can only be described as a McBride bloodbath, which is where most of the comedy in Arizona comes from.

Danny McBride Goes Full Nutzo 

As I mentioned earlier, Danny McBride has a signature stank to his line delivery no matter the role. That’s not a knock on his talent. He knows exactly what he’s doing, but he also has a distinct voice and cadence that only he can pull off. The humor in Arizona comes from the comedy of errors lane it occupies. Sonny is rightfully angry and needs someone to blame for his misfortune, but he constantly underestimates his own strength, like Lenny from Of Mice and Men. He wanted to intimidate Gary and silence his ex-wife. He didn’t mean to kill either of them. But once the anxiety sets in and he realizes how deep he is, he keeps digging by dragging Cassie, Morgan, Scott, and his girlfriend, Kelsey (Elizabeth Gillies), into the mess.

With a nearly empty subdivision at his disposal and no authorities within easy reach, Sonny figures he can eliminate any witness and move on with his life. Every time he gets bested, though, the cracks show. His refusal to turn himself in or admit fault is what makes the whole thing so funny because every screwup is worse than the last.

On one hand, you almost feel bad for him. He sank his nest egg into property that’s about to bankrupt him. That’s the one bad decision you can’t really fault him for. Plenty of people were foreclosed on in the mid-2000s, but most eventually bounced back or at least downsized and figured out how to move forward without killing a bunch of people in the process. Sonny can’t stop killing people, and every escalation is entirely his fault, no matter how he tries to spin it.

Danny McBride is an absolute menace in Arizona, and he’s the only person who could make this role work. You want to sympathize with him, but you can’t. Still, he’ll catch you off guard with a laugh here and there because it’s basically Kenny Powers on a murder spree, and with that context, it’s a blast to watch unfold.

As of this writing, Arizona is streaming on Netflix.