We all have our addictions. Of course, the term is about as misused in common discourse in the same way that proclaiming oneself as OCD or ADHD is, but, here, it’s true. Whether it’s checking digital notifications, ingesting caffeine, or that one thing that, if you go without, makes you dysregulated to hell, we all have them. What transforms them from simple day-to-day cutesy addictions into full-blown compulsion territory is how much of your life you’d tear down for a taste of that sweet, sweet dopamine. In writer/director Brandon Daley’s (Chicken Tuesdays) feature-length debut, $POSITIONS, addictions take center stage in a tale that’s cringe-inducing from start to finish as horror upon horror, deprecation upon deprecation, converge upon a most stunning gluttonous egotist whose addiction is investor capitalism.
L: Michael Kunicki as Mike Alvarado in $POSITIONS. Photo courtesy of Dark Star Pictures.
When amateur crypto-investor Mike Alvarado (Michael Kunicki) believes he’s struck big on his investment, he makes a series of dramatic life changes which, in the moment, seem to be a good idea, until reality comes crashing down. Determined to figure a way out, Mike doubles, triples, and quadruples down because the only way he sees out is through when the smarter, level choice would be to pull out. But having never even slept with someone before, Mike doesn’t know the meaning of “pull out” and it shows.
At first glance, Daley’s choice to make Mike a crypto-investor seems like low-hanging fruit that would automatically put the character at odds with the audience. Even if one didn’t know that much of the early push for bitcoin came from known-pederast Jeffrey Epstein as a means of covertly transferring funds due to the low oversight from any government, the notion of digital finances remains about as sensical as the NFT bubble (in which no one actually owned anything). Like any market, however, where there is interest, there is growth, and investing (traditional or otherwise) is viewed as a socially acceptable way of managing one’s funds. However, Daley ensures very quickly that we, the audience, come to understand that crypto-currency is something else for Mike as the repeated ping notification from his phone inform him of swift market changes that lead to several bad choices in an effort to stave off insolvency. The repeated pings are harbingers of either despair or delight, though the continuous sound grows to be akin to a pin-prick, something which is bothersome at first and grows to increased discomfort, and eventual spirit-breaking, when they don’t stop. Smartly, the sound itself is unreal, able to breakthrough whatever dialogue or noise is going on within the scene, conveying Mike’s hypervigilance to the noise and Pavlovian need to check his phone each time it sounds. If the compulsion were just reacting to the noise, well, that could be conveyed through just about any app on the phone as some folks are likely to do in an effort to never feel left out of online discourse or news. Here, however, that ping brings with it a tension and anxiety that only grows as Mike debases himself more and more through word or deed because, frankly, he’s too blinded by his compulsion to understand and those around him don’t see it for what it is.
Trevor Dawkins as Travis in $POSITIONS. Photo courtesy of Dark Star Pictures.
Enter cousin Travis (Trevor Dawkins). First introduced right after Mike’s first big win while he, Travis, is picking up trash as part of his prison sentence; we’re meant to see Travis as the one with the actual problem because society has deemed him as such. Catching up with Mike post-release, we learn that Travis had a problem with hard drugs (comically explained while Travis drinks and talks about weed, stating that neither of them were problems for him, despite the obvious contradiction) and come to realize that Travis has impulsive tendencies. In this scene, while we are able to see Mike’s own perspective starting to unravel, it’s Travis who calls him out for being susceptible to scams as he, Travis, informs Mike of the fraudulent nature of bitcoin. We’re not even 30 minutes in and Mike’s cousin is trying to tell him what Mike’s actions of late haven’t been able to convey: you’re a dolt high on your own farts. Mike’s delusion is key to all the terrible things that occur within his narrative sphere and the reason why Daley’s film is so painfully anxiety-inducing: we can see what the real problem is while Mike cosplays as an adult who has his shit together. This isn’t a knock on Travis or those with substance abuse issues as Dawkins (All Jacked Up and Full of Worms) plays Travis remarkably self-aware and positively, which makes Mike’s choices throughout the film all the more devastating in their misguided selfishness.
It feels safe to say that Daley is not presenting Mike as someone who the audience should either relate to or root for, even as Kunicki (Wolves Against the World) does inspire a sort of melancholic and unwitting support from the audience. We feel badly for Mike as he endures embarrassment after embarrassment, as he digs himself ever deeper while still seeing himself as one good outcome away from salvation. Even when we want to shake Mike out of his naiveté, to break his false perception of the world, we know that we can’t, not just because he’s a concoction of Daley’s imagination and Kunicki’s performance, but because the addiction he suffers from is one that most of us possess, though not to this degree. Most of us exist in a society in which basic needs — food, clothing, shelter, digital access points — are not provided for on a national level, ensuring that control remains with those who are lucky enough to be able to afford necessities and that those who have to pinch pennies, go without, and constantly refurbish or upcycle (great as these are) can’t even fathom purchasing new as an option. We live in a society in which morality is tied to success and success is measured by one’s bank account. This makes all of us desperate to achieve, to get paid, to amass wealth beyond our needs. “More, more, more!,” the consumptive voice in our head screams, just like the pinging of a notification to tell Mike whether or not he’s in the red or green. Except whereas Mike can turn his phone off or silence the notification, society demands its monetary sacrifice and will not be silenced.
L-R: Kaylyn Carter as Charlene, Jeff Hunter as Lorenzo, and Michael Kunicki as Mike Alvarado in $POSITIONS. Photo courtesy of Dark Star Pictures.
There’s a lot coursing through $POSITIONS and each could be its own deep dive, whether it’s the psychological trauma Mike endured pre-film start that makes him anxious sexually, his perspective of relationships, his inability to read any given situation, or a slew of other elements that create the opportunities for one cringy interaction after another. Regardless of how well the audience responds to the escalating idiocy on screen, one has to hand it to Daley for effortlessly conceiving a series of individual events that would be any regular person’s end of second act revelation that gets them to wake up out of their self-made hell. Instead, through a disquieting performance from Kunicki, we are helpless to watch through gritted teeth and slits of fingers as Mike keeps digging, keeps hoping, and keeps trying to make that coin regardless of what he has to do to get it. Everyone dreams of being rich, but, at some point, we do wake up and realize that there’s far more than just the hunt for more.
In select theaters April 3rd, 2026.
Available on VOD and digital May 12th, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Dark Star Pictures $POSITIONS news release.
Final Score: 4 out of 5.
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