I don't know how to feel about owning a copy of this film.
Starring: Max Thieriot, John Magaro, Emily Meade, Zena Grey, Denzel Whitaker.
Director: Wes Craven
I watched this movie once a couple of years ago and thought it was a piece of garbage. I doubt time will change my response to it. I don't have much else to say about it in hindsight. I feel like I had some sort of reaction to it...but I don't remember what that reaction was. I do remember...and it's quite tasteless now...wondering if Craven had sustained some sort of head injury that made him unaware of how bad the movie he had made was. Tragically, he died of brain cancer...which kinda makes me feel like an asshole.
This movie basically made me re-evaluate Cravens work and made me take up the statement of Cravens over-rated reputation. I've since recanted that position, but...we'll see if this movie has gotten any better over time.
Observation time.
Y'know, this opening sequence is better constructed than I remember. I rather liked the bathroom sequence, with the optical effect of reflections upon reflections. It kinda goes downhill from there, primarily in the fact that everyone keeps getting close to the guy despite knowing he's a psycho murderer. Those little jumps in time and perception are actually pretty well done, though. But why the cops keep basically trying to hug the psycho murderer is kinda bizarre.
The puppet scene is actually not so bad. It's mostly exposition-and somewhat obvious in it's execution-but in the end it's a decent set-up. I mean, it's a set-up for a pretty flimsy premise, but it's not that bad of a set-up.
It's kind of remarkable: I've learned to love Max Theriot. He's great in "Bates Motel." He was good in that rip-off of Psycho with the girl from "Hunger Games." I know their names and stuff, it's just funnier if I pretend to forget.
I do feel like if I ever went crazy and became a psycho-killer, I'd announce myself as my killer name when attacking victims, too. I mean, it takes a certain level of self-pre-obsession to do so. I mean, running at a kid shouting "Arrrr, I'm the Ripper!" is nuts. But, hey, it's kind of a nutty movie.
The social hierarchy in this film is confusing and silly. I think my favorite is the religious girl...and that's saying something. But, still, it's rare that the religious fundamentalist is actually sympathetic and sweet. Usually they're villains.
The California condor scene is actually pretty rad. I'd give a standing ovation to anyone who did this in a classroom. Seriously. Maybe it's my inner, bullied scared kid talking, but I'd rejoice in such a performance.
They telegraph the hell out of the best friend being the villain. That's what happens, right? My memories are vague. But who gasps in shock everytime they see their best friend?
If there was some sort of alpha, queen bitch in high school...I probably would have fallen in love with her and worshipped her the way the cute redhead chick worships Jesus. I may have problems.
That weird mirror sequence is kinda neat...I do feel like the best friend is incredibly wooden and uninteresting, But it's a decent bit of acting business. Nice juxtaposition with the bathroom scream, too.
I feel like even the people making this movie forgot what the hell it was they were doing. What the hell is even happening through half of this movie? There's some okay character development happening-like the aforementioned red-head religious girl actually being sweet and kind of heroic (her first thought in a crisis is her friend, after all) but she's killed off before she can really get anywhere. It's kinda reminiscent of "Shocker" in a way. We're given some basic idea of who people are, and we react in kind. But I still don't understand why Bug is a lunatic channeling other people...except that, no matter what happens, Craven always ends up channeling "Nightmare." And, apparently, "Scream."
The jock is a shitheel. That's not so much a shocker at all. I do like he gets all weepy and self-loathing when cornered...but don't a lot of us? Not that I know much about that...
There seems to be a theme of decent kids getting murdered. It's kind of a rarity in horror, and I respect Wes for going there.
Emily Meade is actually really good in this. Her character motivations aren't normal earth logic, but whatever. Fang is actually kinda cool. There's a lot of actually decent acting happening in this film...brief moments of real excellence...it has no real sense of cohesion.
I feel like, at the end of the day, that I want to like this movie and it keeps resisting.
The Ripper is an underwhelming villain, in the end. Too much "rrrrar!" Even his physicality is kinda ridiculous. He's like some moron at a heavy metal show. I have more menacing encounters with WASPey housewives. But, that's not entirely fair...those housewives are terrifying.
These people have remarkable grief counselors. They discuss the deaths of friends and family like they do their preferred brand of soap. Granted, they would have to be a little invested in their brand of soap...but not super invested.
Bug should grow up to marry Alice Johnson from "Nightmare 4." They could have amazing soul absorbing children.
Even in revealing his villany...the best friend is about as interesting as staring at my wall.
This wall. That's actually the wall above my TV.
Hey, pretentious voice overs. Great choice.
Man, this movie just doesn't have any real sense of resolution. If your ending requires this much expository dialogue, I feel like you didn't do your job as a storyteller. It's kind of like explaining a joke. "No, see, it's funny because of this." At least Fang lives...even though the ending could have used some kind of embrace between siblings. In fact, the whole movie could have used more interaction between the pair. That could have been your hook instead of just having a single scene where you a)reveal that they're actually siblings and b)quickly introduce the very sensible idea that they have animosity due to their past. Instead, this movie goes the "Shocker" route and just kinda throws ideas at the audience and expects some sort of connection.
Final Thoughts: Kinda just said it. But, okay: The young cast mostly delivers in the end. Awkward scripting and direction doesn't entirely diminish that. They weren't given much to do, but they make it work for the most part. There's some real talent among this cast. That being said, there really is some bad writing going on. Characters really don't make much sense, there's some nice scenes but they have little to no real cohesion and development is entirely shallow and simple.
It's entertaining enough, I suppose. I can't say I was bored, but I still question it;'s validity as a serious film. Not really a great piece of film making.
Final Rating: 2 and a half stars.
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