A brief, blackly comic sketch, “Disposal” follows an insufferable pair of upwardly-mobile types who make all the wrong decisions after their self-absorption causes a bad accident. Deep into the woods they go, desperately trying to save their careers by burying a stranger’s corpse. Suddenly, a novice hunter getting pointers from his dad thinks he spies a turkey deep in the autumn brush …
“Disposal” feels like a first act, as if we’re about to get another series of gruesome mistakes to ponder and enjoy, but then the credits get slammed in our faces. Of course, if brevity is the biggest flaw of this chilling little slice of mayhem, director Alex Turner has nothing to be ashamed of. He scored himself a great cast with familiar faces (if not names) who sell the material with aplomb; Catherine Lloyd Burns stands out as a high-strung fashion plate with an empty soul and an eating disorder, and J.K. Simmons (sans the sleazy moustache he dons for his role as J. Jonah Jameson in the “Spiderman” films) convinces as a patient father trying to bond with his impatient son.
Those who expect the worst from people under stress won’t be surprised by the final outcome. “Disposal” is a morally bumpy ride (our yuppie heroes refer to their SUV victim as “it”) but a sarcastic one that invites you to smirk along. If Turner can transfer this black-hearted jocularity to a full-length feature, he might have some kind of sick masterpiece on his hands.
