When Johnny Hickey first cold-called DigBoston more than five years ago looking for us to write about him, he was a twenty-something Charlestown tough with an unlikely story: He had survived a plummet into the Quincy quarries, the end result of a drug deal gone wrong, and was determined to make a film to share his opiate experience with the world.
Fast-forward to 2014, and Hickey’s 2012 debut, OxyMorons, is a Hulu and Netflix sensation with cult status among rehabbers and indie gore fiends alike. The grimy tale of Oxycontin deals and prison life in Mass has also found a second life: Hickey and his crew have toured the movie all across the country teaching crowds about the perils of abuse.
As Charlestown loses more authenticity by the minute to the yuppie invasion, OxyMorons should be placed in a time capsule alongside The Town so as to cautiously preserve a storied criminal past. While the latter reflects the old-school bank-robbing years, Hickey’s comparably dark story comes out of the drug-addled era that continues today.
This opportunity to view OxyMorons on the big screen is one worth taking up, so long as you don’t mind the grisly Boston cityscapes and ruthless jail scenes burning deep into your brain matter. Hickey will also be on-hand for a Q&A and reception afterward, fitting for anybody interested in ballsy realistic Boston flicks or the ongoing fight against opiates in New England.
OXY MORONS WITH JOHNNY HICKEY Q&A. BRIGHT FAMILY SCREENING ROOM, PARAMOUNT CENTER, 559 WASHINGTON ST., BOSTON. SAT 12.6. 7PM/$20/ALL-AGES.
A Queens, NY native who came to New England in 2004 to earn his MA in journalism at Boston University, Chris Faraone is the editor and co-publisher of DigBoston and a co-founder of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He has published several books including 99 Nights with the 99 Percent, and has written liner notes for hip-hop gods including Cypress Hill, Pete Rock, Nas, and various members of the Wu-Tang Clan.
