After Dark's Eight Films to Die For DVD Review Roundup
After Dark's Eight Films to Die For DVD Review Roundup
The Reeds, The Final, & Kill Theory.
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The Reeds
Imported from the U.K., but hardly a foreign concept to the savvy U.S. DVD bargain-bin comber, The Reeds throws a handful of vacationing couples together in an isolated area and picks them off one-by-one. In this case, it's a self-guided boat trip down a dingy, reed-flanked river. Fans of BBC programming and Showtime's The Tudors may see a few familiar faces, but the cast is largely comprised of unknowns dying horrible deaths by rote. At least the actors are competent and there's the expected blood and suspense factor… who's killing the couples? Is it the strange clan of heathens living in the reeds? Is it the creepy old guy who rented them the boat? Is it something supernatural? Could it even be that they've gone insane and are doing this to themselves? You'll find out, but the voyage may not be worth the fare.
The Final
The image on the cover of the DVD makes it seem as though The Final will be another A-horror lesson in haunted schoolgirls, but that is totally misleading. Which isn't to say what's inside is much better, but at least it's not Whispering Corridors part 10. The story follows a disgruntled clique of high school misfits (standard issue goth chick, brainy geek, shy foreigner and nonconformist dweeb) who decide to get even with their popular / pretty / rich and/or athletic tormentors with an elaborate Halloween prank. Obviously finding the old fashioned practice of egging and TP'ing too tame, the oppressed decide to take it Columbine style with a twist. Instead of going into the school with guns blazing, they lure the popular kids out and into an old, isolated mansion, drug them, tie them up, torture them, and THEN break out the artillery. The acting is pretty good and the costumes are great, but the movie is routine and its message dated. There is a good commentary by director Joey Stewart and producer Jason Kabolati — they acknowledge the limitations in which they had to work, and while their praise may be a bit much, it's obvious they've been around the block a time or two.
Kill Theory
Here's a fairly inventive twist on the moralistic murderer ala Saw's Jigsaw — one who sets his victim-duckies all in a row and watches them act and do exactly as he suspected. In this case, it's a mental patient who's never quite been able to get over the fact that many years ago in a tense situation, he did what he had to do to survive. He thinks he's ready to move on, but his therapist thinks otherwise. So in order to prove that everyone is a killer deep down inside, the mysterious mental patient escapes and conducts an experiment which he believes will prove his theory. What helps put Kill Theory a cut about the rest in this roundup is an experienced name cast (Agnes Bruckner, Patrick Flueger, Taryn Manning, Kevin Gage); an assured and forthright direction style from Chris Moore (first time helmer, but anyone who saw Project Greenlight knows him, and his level of cinematic experience); plus some solid dialogue and character development from screenwriter Kelly C. Palmer.
Kill Theory (along with Dread and The Graves) is one of the best of this year's otherwise bleak bunch of After Dark's "Eight Films to Die For" on DVD.
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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson