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Teen outcasts bond over Satan-lovin' music in Peter Sollett's return to features, written by D.B. Weiss.

A likable but low-wattage story of high school outcasts who seek rebirth through aggro music, Peter Sollett’s Metal Lords ostensibly aims for Heavy but is surprisingly Lite in its take on teenage mental illness, classroom violence and bullying.

Any Game of Thrones fans who hope writer D.B. Weiss and exec-producer David Benioff will find a place for on-topic visions of dragons and wizards should look someplace other than this prosaic and reality-bound Netflix tale, which holds no surprises. Those seeking emotional insight might instead listen to The Mountain Goats’ lo-fi masterpiece “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton,” which covers similar ground in under three minutes, creates more compelling characters even without dialogue, and might make you cry before it reaches its rousing chorus of “Hail Satan.”

Related Stories TV Eddie Redmayne Explains Why His 'Fantastic Beasts' Role Is Similar to Brad Pitt in 'Ocean's' Movies General News Ellen DeGeneres, Billy Porter, Bruce Springsteen Join Social Media Rally to Support Ukraine Metal Lords The Bottom Line Heavy metal in theory, easy listening in practice. Release date: April 8 (Netflix) Cast: Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith, Isis Hainsworth, Brett Gelman, Joe Manganiello Director: Peter Sollett Screenwriter: D.B. Weiss Rated R, 1 hour 38 minutes

Cast: Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith, Isis Hainsworth, Brett Gelman, Joe Manganiello

Adrian Greensmith plays Hunter, a longtime headbanger who has convinced his more square best friend Kevin (Jaeden Martell, of the new It films) that starting a band will turn both high school outcasts into heroes. After squabbling with classmates in a milquetoast cover band, Hunter learns that his school will soon host that creakiest of music-movie plot devices, a Battle of the Bands. Trouble is, SkullFucker only has a lead guitarist and a drummer.

While Hunter launches a frantic hunt for a bassist, Kevin stumbles across the answer: Emily (Isis Hainsworth), a quiet girl whose temper erupts when she’s skipping her meds, plays cello well and has an ear for the drama of Black Sabbath. Hunter scoffs at the idea of putting a cellist (not to mention a girl) in his badass band; Weiss’ screenplay conveniently forgets that the marriage of metal and strings has been mainstream since at least the ’90s, when cello quartet Apocalyptica became famous for their Metallica covers.

The two boys suffer a predictable falling out, leaving Kevin to enjoy some coming-of-age perks (first love, recognition of his quickly acquired drumming prowess) while Hunter’s douchey dad (Brett Gelman) ships him off to a “wellness center.” As with Emily’s “happy pills,” hospitalization is just a throwaway plot device here, not an invitation to look at whatever problems might have led the kid to Metallica and Ozzy in the first place. The film uses it as the setting for a Joe Manganiello cameo, then lets Hunter escape with an ease that would baffle the heroes of that Mountain Goats song.

Greensmith stands out here, offering a credible passion for Hunter’s music of choice and mastering his dismissive attitude toward all that Is Not Metal. Once or twice, we see places that Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) might’ve turned the character’s enthusiasm into a show-stopping classroom moment à la School of Rock; but the film stops short of unearthing the star lurking within him.

(Poor Hunter, with just a metal novice as his sidekick, also misses out on the social belonging kids often find outside the musical mainstream. Look at the teens dancing to narcoleptic cumbia in Fernando Frias’ recent I’m No Longer Here: Now those kids, defiantly playing up everything that makes them different, are Metal. And their bond is so palpable it’s heartbreaking when one of them has to leave for the U.S.)

Though there aren’t many laughs on the way to that Battle of the Bands, Sollett’s unassuming cast and breezy pace ensure we won’t be too bored before we get there. Will rawk triumph over kids who think Ed Sheeran is cool? Will blood be shed on stage, and if so, will it be used to summon demons? Will anybody who actually owns a Motörhead record still be watching at this point? “Yes” is the answer to at least one of these questions, but definitely not to all of them.

Distributor: Netflix Production companies: BLB, Kingsgate Films Cast: Jaeden Martell, Adrian Greensmith, Isis Hainsworth, Brett Gelman, Joe Manganiello Director: Peter Sollett Screenwriter: D.B. Weiss Producer: Greg Shapiro Executive Producers: David Benioff, Bernadette Caulfield, Robin Mulcahy, Fisichella, D.B. Weiss Director of photography: Anette Haellmigk Production designer: Tyler B. Robinson Costume designer: Erin Aldridge Orr Editor: Steve Edwards Composer: Ramin Djawadi Casting director: Richard Hicks

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