As a graduate of a Southern private university with a large Greek life presence, I witnessed firsthand just how intense fraternity members can be under the guise of brotherhood. It's startling how much control a group of young adults can exert over their community with the promise of social superiority. And, sadly, it's dangerous. While at my school there were often rumors of fraternities forcing hopeful pledges to swallow goldfish and other upsetting tasks of that ilk, to my knowledge, none of these "required" feats resulted in death. That tragically hasn't been the case at many colleges — which "The Line" subtly points to in its conclusion, showing news coverage of the hazing death of Penn State student Timothy Piazza. In "The Line," members of the fictional frat Kappa Nu Alpha, including Tom (Alex Wolff) and Todd (Lewis Pullman), are in the process of recruiting new brothers from the freshman class (aka pledges). One recruit, Gettys (Austin Abrams), isn't quite buying into the respect his elder brothers feel they deserve as he's put through a series of increasingly dehumanizing tasks. When he runs afoul of one of the other members, the consequences are ultimately tragic. While past Greek life explorations on the big screen have bordered on hokey, "The Line" is a haunting look at the hate and danger some sects of these national fraternities breed. — Lindsay Kimble, entertainment content director
