Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Moderate
- grotesque
- surreal
- bleak
- cult movie night
- arthouse film night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film aggressively provocative and formally original, but many considered its sour perspective and fragmented storytelling overwhelming.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The damaged Ohio town and its eccentric residents form a deliberately ugly, surreal portrait of middle American social decay.
The film explicitly abandons a conventional plot and moves through loosely connected episodes involving Solomon, Tummler, and townspeople.
Cat killing, sexual exploitation, vulgarity, and frightening encounters coexist with moments of strange intimacy and gentleness.
Solomon and Tummler's anti-social adventures include glue sniffing, dirtbike riding, black metal, sex, and cat killing.
Films like Gummo, and why
Kids
shared abrasive coming-of-age perspective, small-town alienation, dark humor, and unconventional narrative form
The Doom Generation
shared transgressive adolescence, bleak American suburbia, outsider characters, and confrontational realism
Welcome to the Dollhouse
shared grotesque Americana, surreal imagery, black comedy, and deliberately fragmented storytelling
Julien Donkey-Boy
shared eccentric character gallery, rural social decay, outsider friendship, and provocative independent-film sensibility
Movie Details
- Director
- Harmony Korine
- Release Date
- 1997-10-17
- Runtime
- 89 min
- Rating
- 6.6 / 10 (747)
Cast
- Jacob Reynolds
- Jacob Sewell
- Nick Sutton
- Chloë Sevigny
- Darby Dougherty
- Carisa Glucksman
- Lara Tosh
- Jason Guzak
- Casey Guzak
- Wendall Carr
Common questions
- What is Gummo about?
- In a tornado-scarred Ohio town, two bored teenagers drift through a surreal gallery of damaged people, petty violence, and grimly comic misadventure.
- What is Gummo like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Gummo as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Gummo violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Gummo as moderate.
- What did critics think of Gummo?
- Critics broadly found the film aggressively provocative and formally original, but many considered its sour perspective and fragmented storytelling overwhelming.
- Which films are like Gummo?
- Films with a similar feel include Kids, The Doom Generation, Welcome to the Dollhouse, and Julien Donkey-Boy.
- How long is Gummo?
- Gummo runs 89 minutes.
