Introduction:
After Scream brought the teen scream horror genre back with a vengeance,
we got some fun horror flicks (even if some of them weren’t supposed to be as
funny as they turned out. I’m looking at you The Craft.) I somehow missed this one back in the day. My wife
assured me that it wasn’t very good. But hell, sometimes that makes it even
more fun, right?
Summary:
Steve (James Marsden) and
his family have just moved to Cradle Bay Island, a sleepy suburban town. Coming
from Chicago, this is a bit of a culture shock, but Steve tries his best to fit
in. Soon he befriends two local misfits who give him a rundown of how the
school is run. But Gavin (Nick Stahl) is also convinced that something shady is
going on in the town. You see the perfect and most popular of the kids in Cradle
Bay weren’t always that way.
Gavin spins a yarn about
rowdy kids disappearing overnight and then returning perfect and popular, but
with some minor anger management issues. Steven thinks this is pretty funny,
and spends more time hanging out with Rachel (Katie Holmes) the bad girl (you
can tell she’s bad because she wears black a lot). But soon enough Steven
begins to see strange things going on in the town. Is Dr. Caldicott j(Bruce
Greenwood) just around to provide advice to students? Is the crazy janitor
(William Sadler) really crazy, or just pretending? And if Steven starts
exhibiting Disturbing Behaviour will
he be the next to disappear?
Good Points:
- A neat idea for a fun campy film
- Some of the cast appears to be having a great time
- Some of the dialogue is ridiculously ripe
Bad Points:
- Can’t decide if it wants to be taken serious or not
- Edited in a confusing way that often grinds the film to a halt
- Katie Holmes attempts to play an edgy bad girl with a heart of gold… uh huh.
Overall:
This movie actually has an
impressive crew behind it. Lots of folks that worked on one of my favorite
1990s series, The X-Files were
involved in this one. But somehow the whole thing just doesn’t work. Some
actors are playing it over the top and campy (Bruce Greenwood is a hoot). But
others are playing it completely straight. The editing is atrocious. Scenes
stop, jump and skip around. You never lose the narrative, but in an attempt to
be edgy (I think) the final project actually feels longer than it is. And Katie
Holmes is just miscast in this film. She’s cute and all, but I don’t believe
she’s the bad girl she’s supposed to be. The final result is a dull movie that
moves in fits and starts. Not bad enough to be fun, and not good enough to
actually watch.
Scores
(out of 5)
Visuals: 3
Sound: 3
Acting: 3
Script: 2
Music: 3
Direction: 2
Entertainment: 2
Total: 2
Curious about a full review,
sent me an email and I’ll make additional thoughts to this review.
I've seen this whole movie, but never at a single sitting -- a piece here and a piece there. I guess that means my reaction is similar to yours, or else I would have sat through it or not returned to it at all. This has the elements of a fun flick along with a classic "don't trust your parents" theme that always resonates with teens. Maybe it's just too long for the subject matter.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I think they could have done more with that "Don't trust your parents" theme. It is there and it is implied. But a more direct confrontation with Steve and his parents could have helped the film. Oh well.
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