I love how things work out sometimes. I was looking for a special themed review for this once-a-year occasion and this just popped up. As a bonus, I found it on a certain video-posting website for free, meaning that I did not have to interrupt my Queue for it. Well, enough talk. Let me get right down to my review of...
The film starts off with a random girl-in-peril scene. We get some clues to her identity through some random conversation and a scarf that we will see a lot more of. In a rare scene for a slasher film, the first death takes a while. She runs, scampers and generally puts up a fight. But, faster than you can say 'how did he get in front of her,' the mysterious villain cuts her off and then cuts her down. Ha ha ha...wordplay.
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Now we get the actual plot and the introduction to our characters. Nobody is exactly breaking the mold of teen horror cliches, unfortunately. We get the popular girls, the introverted girl, the jock, the asshole or two and the weird kid with a rat. No, it's not Ben! They hang out at a local pub congregated by jerky older men. Naturally, our heroes pick a fight with them and run away. That will show them...that you are cowards. They proceed to embark on a strange game of trying to make it across the rising bridge as it ascends. One of them wisely 'chickens out' and the other jumps in a move that destroys the front of his car. Of course, the vehicle still runs and nobody is hurt. Well, physically.
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As we eventually learn, the introverted girl has had some history. For a long time, she did not fit in. She could get no friends to show up for her 17th birthday because a better, cooler party was taking place the same night. Her mom drives her over and tries to get her in, but to no avail. During the harsh rain, they get stuck on the ascending bridge- way to re-use sets!- and their car falls in. Her mother dies, but she- of course- lives. She has weird fugue states where she blacks out, but I'm sure that it is unrelated to the killings.*
The film has some interesting killings, but they are not all the graphic. Plus, they are over very quickly. In a way, the film is almost a tease of a film...until the end. One guy get stabbed with a shish kabob (as on the poster) and another is crushed by his bench press...after a weight is dropped onto his groin. Talk about a painful death! Many of the other ones are a disappointment or not shown at all. All of this builds up to a pretty interesting ending actually.
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Spoilers here. If you are a pussy or actually have not seen this movie, skip ahead.
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In the end, our heroine gets kidnapped and ends up in a room full of corpses. All of her so-called friends are there now, along with someone that looks just like her. They struggle and the other girl's amazingly life-like mask comes off. She reveals her master plan: kill all of the teens (done) and kill her, making it appear like a murder-suicide. Our heroine wrests the knife away and stabs her. Unfortunately, her psychologist shows up after that and makes the wrong conclusion. Dun dun dun!
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The film is pretty good. The killings are a bit lackluster when compared to a Friday the 13th or even My Bloody Valentine. It is one of those rare ones that is all about the mystery of the killer and the ending reveal. Of course, the remake is on the horizon and all of that will be changed. They will probably cast some hand-off from Dawson's Creek or One Tree Hill too. Until then, enjoy this movie for what it's worth...for free.
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Let's return to one of my favorite genres: the bad zombie film. Stay tuned...
I was happy with this one along with House on Sorority Row for nostalgic early 80s flicks that truly capture what the Slasher was before it because a battle to outdo one another in the gore. Fun story, fun kills, and a good if not far fetched reveal =D
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