When we were younger, we all had those aspirations of “making it big.” Some of us wanted to be astronauts, some of us wanted to be movie stars, some of us wanted to be lawyers, and some of us wanted to be musicians. What happens when you don’t give up that dream despite your best efforts of trying to make it a reality, and you’re just an indie sleaze band that is sort of going nowhere with genuinely no further down to go? That is what co-writer and director Sam Scott wants to ask with his feature debut in Turn It Up!, having its world premiere in the Escape from Tribeca section of Tribeca Film Festival 2026. Can an infectious riff be the key to success, or is the price the piper is asking too much for the stardom some of this band craves? Turn It Up! delivers on all cylinders for this indie punk pulp.
The film focuses on the band’s frontliner, AC (Justine Nelson), and her bandmates: Berg (Jonathan Craig), Russ (Xavier Lopez), and AC’s secret love interest, Court (co-writer Gwenlyn Cumyn). The band is about to call it quits, or at least AC is, as AC’s mundane day job isn’t inspiring her much resulting in the band continuously playing meandering gigs that lead to not much if anything at all. AC’s tired, she’s defeated, and she’s really unsure how to proceed with everything for the band and herself. One day though, miraculously, the band starts playing a new riff while tuning up for their umpteenth disappointing gig, and, while playing this riff, they realize it’s good. But something happens, something they didn’t expect and don’t see coming — they open a riff into a new dimension where AC meets Dr. Pretorious (Julian Richings) and several other people who show up to their show to experience their band, however, their heads might literally explode due to this new riff they’ve discovered. While the band is under a delusion of grandeur, AC is the only one who can see the chaos it is causing.
A scene from TURN IT UP. Photo courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival.
Their new riff helps make their new song good and it leads them to meet Miss Vee (Liv Collins), a manager who wants to sign them and get them the deal they’ve always wanted, despite the dire consequences. The problem is that only AC knows what this riff is doing while everyone else is rather oblivious to the song’s power, leading to a riff between everyone. Meanwhile, Miss Vee is pushing for the band to sign and perform their song for clearly ulterior motives.
Turn It Up! has a lot of potential going for it and most of its not squandered, but it needs the right audience to flourish. This is the definition of the indie movie about the indie band that just wants to break free. The journey and the message in the movie are fun, chaotic, and grounded by some truly fun performances. While the movie tries to emulate the fun and fantastical elements of Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), it holds its own identity and creates its own purpose. And, with its use of practical effects, it is destined to be a cult classic. It feels as if someone combined PG: Psycho Goreman (2020) and Scott Pilgrim into a weird love child, and going in with that mindset and expectation certainly makes Turn It Up! the colorfully weird blast that it sets out to be.
Aside from the ingenuity that Sam Scott brings to the direction and screenplay, the movie is survived and perpetrated by its marvelous cast. Justine Nelson’s (Nobody Famous) portrayal of AC trying to balance her love life, band aspirations, and just overall disappointment in life while also trying not to be the reason the world may potentially end now, is refreshingly hilarious and grounded without being bogged down. She sees the potential but clearly knows sacrificing the world is not the right answer while also struggling with her own eternal happiness and desires. Nelson delivers a multilayered, fresher take on the archetype. Julian Richings (Supernatural) as Dr. Pretorious feels like the combination of a bunch of zany, over-the-top characters we’ve seen before and he adds to the fantastical nature of the film itself. Gwenlyn Cumyn (Chasing Valentine), Jonathan Craig (Making Monsters), and Xavier Lopez (Firestarter) round out the cast who helps bring Turn It Up! into a punk, indie, other-worldly explosion that is an incredibly fun, popcorn-quality, good time that never wants to take itself too seriously and packs a serious level of enjoyment cranked up to 11.
Screening during Tribeca Film Festival 2026.
For more information, head to the official Tribeca Film Festival Turn It Up! webpage.
Final Score: 3.75 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
Leave a Reply