Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Expected more

A Disappointing Continuation

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

I found this movie surprisingly good. This movie contains just about everything you could want. It has some action, some suspense, some twists and turns, and of course Mandy.

***no actual spoiler, but still, do not read this if you're gonna watch tonight***Amber Heard is absolutely fantastic in this movie that unfortunately sat on the shelf after it was made, due simply to it having been sold to a company that went belly up. This is notably not a case of a weak movie made that nobody wanted to distribute. Well, it was released on schedule in South Africa, but when I considered purchasing it, I took a local reviewer's advice in a magazine column, and skipped on it. Never do such a thing. Never. Years later, remembering the title, researched it on Wikipedia and IMDb, and downloaded the trailer from VuClip, and once I saw the trailer...Repeat: Never go for the opinion of a general review. Do what you can to find the trailer. Trailers will more or less indicate if it is your cup of tea or not. Other research can flesh out the general expectation, but do find something more concrete.Now for the movie:Mandy Lane is this sweet-as-Mom's-apple-pie high-school beauty who blossomed overnight and is now on every guy's radar. Of course she gets invited to the party. But all is not as it seems. Mandy turns out--- No, I won't spoil it for you by revealing anything more. But the 'last American virgin' is not as alluring as she promises to be.Highly recommending this one for its evocative soundtrack, especially "Sister Golden Hair" and "Sealed with a Kiss", which are put to extremely good use at just the right moments. They fit in so well, they bring tears to the eyes! Oscar-worthy! Standout performance by leggy Whitney Able as bad girl (with a soft streak) Chloe.I would say that if you are unsure about this one ad tonight's prospect, do go for it! You will be surprised!Unexpected twist ahead!(Some say the movie is flawed. It surely is. But never mind. Watch it.) Thank you Anchor Bay for picking up on this straggler.And to Leon van Nierop, overrated big fish in a tiny swimming pool, your review sucked!

The dispassionate Mandy Lane tries to make it till dawn as the friends who invited her to a ranch party are picked off by a mysterious killer.I like the opening sequence in this, as it got me riled and had a good life changing moment that set the story up. The protagonist's friend was an interesting character, and it seemed he would turn out to be the hero.After that it kinda plods along until the twist ending - the kind you'll have thought of half way through but dismissed as implausible.I think the problem is the title character - well played with a detached look in the eye, but I didn't get her motivation and the relationship with her friend. Don't want to give away too much. The other actors were fine, though I think Red was miscast.Music was great, varying up the usual slasher stuff.Overall, a sprint start turns into a stroll, then makes a dash for the line.

If you don't look carefully this is just a run-of-the-mill slasher pic with a surprise ending.But if you look at all the scenes, this is a much cleverer slasher spoof than Scream could ever hope to be. (next bit contains some spoilers, but I hope I have't given away too much)For instance the slutty girl, who you assume is the first to die (as usual) actually outlasts her, er, doting boyfriend. And the cast spends more time either seeming bored or developing crushes on the unobtainable heroine than running away screaming or investigating dark places, even though their friends are disappearing one-by-one. And the silent, sinister masked killer suddenly turns out to be a geeky, lovestruck idiot! And finally, in my second favorite bit (excluding the ending twist), the killer chases a girl through the field, not to heavy metal or psycho-style chords, but perky, upbeat pop.About the only thing I didn't fully get was the scene in the pit full of dead cows; was it a clever bit of imagery to show the killer thought no more of the victim than a butcher does of the cattle he/she slaughters, or was it just a bit of gratuitous gore?Well worth a look for the clever camera work and surprise ending, and then worth a second look to see how many knowing nods to the standard slasher pic you can spot. Oh, and I challenge you not to shudder slightly when you hear 'sealed with a kiss' playing over the final shot, when you realize you might have just had a glimpse into how a real psychopath's mind might work...