Film Review: "Tamara" (C+)

To be honest, this is one of those films that I don't love, but I don't exactly hate either, although that's mainly because I can't muster up enough energy to care either way. It's the same old tired storyline (school outcast gets revenge) twisted until it's part "Carrie," part "I Know What You Did Last Summer." The movie is mildly offensive to me - why is it that the "nerd" always finds herself and her power, only to become evil and super-sexy through that? And to be quite honest, I thought the character was cuter as the nerd. But, that's just a ridiculous side-note.

I'll give this movie props for what it tries to do. It tries to be different, but suffers from lack of a good script to keep it going through the whole movie. The acting is wooden from pretty much everyone except for the lead (Jenna Dewan), who does her best given the script she has and really, is decent as both the mousy nerd and the sex kitten. While the movie did make me laugh a few times ("it's wet" and other sexual innuendos were mildly amusing to me), the movie lacks any sort of driving force after about 45 minutes.

The kill scenes start off great, but fail to deliver the same punch after we see the kid start cutting off his own facial features. I will say, however, that I was absolutely amazed with one sequence which occurs in a bedroom, although I don't want to give away too much. Disregarding any of the negative undercurrents the scene may have, it was shocking enough to me that it woke me up after too many minutes of boredom. The problem is, the film goes right back to being boring and uninspired.

All in all, I have to say, the movie is entertaining enough for one viewing. I didn't hate it and it's far from the worst horror movie I've seen this year (I'm leaning towards "The Happening" getting that dubious honor). I do not, however, get why Lionsgate released this into theaters even if it was just for a limited engagement. If anything, this is a forgettable direct to DVD release trying to pretend it's a bigger production that it actually is, but it's certainly nothing remarkable.

Book Review: "The Ruins" (A+!)

This book has been on my "to read" list for a very long time, but I only recently got to it. I didn't want to see the movie without having read the book first so that was the catalyst for me finally settling down with it. I ended up devouring it all in one go, finishing at 5am ... and well, let's just say it took me five minutes to even set the book down after reading the last line.

There is just something about this book that, much like the vines, crawls underneath your skin and stays with you. Rarely do horror novels stay with me or even scare me, but this one did. When I finished the novel, I had this moment of wondering what I was supposed to do. It felt like I needed a therapy session, especially with the incredibly bleak ending. I don't know what I was expecting, but the ending just completely floored me. Needless to say, it took me awhile to get to sleep and school the next day was a haze.

The thing about this book is, Scott Smith takes a plot that seems vaguely ridiculous and makes it work flawlessly. I have to admit, when I found out that the so-called villain were vines - or at least that's how they are described - my knee-jerk reaction was one of "oh this is gonna suck." I was wrong. It turns out to prey on what I think is genuinely frightening - something invading your body, making you crazy and turn on yourself, as well as everyone else around you.

The book's also not short on blood. Or any kind of violence at all. The characters, crafted and developed so well, are hard to let go of because you feel genuine empathy for them. They aren't even necessarily making stupid decisions, they just don't know any better. (SPOILER) So when one of them is suddenly forced to amputate both of his friends legs, or when one of them is going batshit insane, you really do feel for them. (END SPOILER)

I highly recommend this novel, although if you like your horror fiction just as simple entertainment, this is probably not for you. It is a profoundly disturbing story that even I found hard to read. I also guarantee that from the moment you open the book, you will be swallowed into a Ruins black hole and not reappear for at least four hours. Definitely give yourself the time to read and don't plan anything for awhile. Include an extra hour for recuperation time. And possibly therapy.

Film Review: "Slither" (A)

I figured since yesterday I mentioned "Slither" in another movie review, it was time this film got one of its own.

"Slither" is one of those movies that is pretty damn ridiculous. But it's also one of those films where you spend so much time laughing during it, you really just don't give a shit. It's top notch entertainment, great for a night with friends or to watch alone. I, to my everlasting shame, did not see this one in theaters, but it's worth completely worth it to add this one to your own DVD collection.

James Gunn (writer/director) and his band of merry, hilarious actors are fantastic in this. I have to give special nods to Nathan Fillion, who I love from his TV work, but also because he is one of those actors that can take a stupid circumstance/line and make it seem to be the funniest thing in the world. His facial expressions just crack me up. I, for one, will always remember his fight with the deer. Elizabeth Banks, Michael Rooker and Gregg Henry are also too good to be true. I really enjoyed Elizabeth Banks' character, who seems to be the damsel in distress at first, but really is so much more than that. Banks is a natural comedic actress and a perfect choice for this role.

One scene that always sticks out in my mind is when Fillion and Henry's characters end up fighting in the police car over choice of soda. Somehow it works. "Slither" is filled with moments like this. While still being violent and filled with plenty of gore, it remains a comedic movie that's bound to end up as some sort of cult classic. Sure, it's cheesy and sometimes just outright stupid ... there are still moments that make you cringe. For me, that was the bathtub sequence as I was sure the worm thing was going to get inside the girl another way. The point is, this movie is disgusting, funny and has plenty of gore. For me, that's already a decent package.

The only thing that bothers me about this movie is the ending. I loved the song choice - the Yayhoos! - but I felt like the overall ending of the movie was anti-climactic at best. I wanted to see a bit more of "life afterwards." At the very least, I wanted there to be more interaction between the survivors. It seemed like a golden opportunity for more than just a half-hearted joke relating to the deer incident, but it just fades out. I liked how all the bodies were splayed about the town, but I still wanted the movie to be wrapped up neater than that.

A life lesson to be learned from all of this is to always keep a grenade handy. See, you can learn from horror films!