Of course, the title of this review will only make sense to those familiar with the pop song of the same name by Norwegian popsters A-ha. The cheesy song, warbled with gusto by the angular faced Morten Harket, is considerably better than the film of the same name. In fact, running the tune on a continuous loop for 94 minutes is far more appealing than ever having to sit through this movie again.
Directed by Jeff Wadlow, who used the money he won at the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival to fund the project, film has a smart premise and big ambitions. Unfortunately the premise, kids at posh prep school play a lying game and invent a serial killer-who surprise to surprise comes real, is not exploited to any level of decent entertainment, horror, thriller or otherwise. It's badly acted by Julian Morris (amusingly over emphasising his English accent like he is auditioning for Twelfth Night), Jared Padalecki (who acted better when ensconced in wax in House of Wax also released this same year) and Jon Bon Jovi (out acted by his hair), while its surprisingly short on frights; or blood for that matter.
Clearly trying to craft a thinking mans slasher, Wadlow instead gets confused and winds up with a standard film of red herrings and annoying by the numbers privileged teenagers. The script is a garbled mess, stretching credibility to unacceptable levels, and even when it gets into a groove of "complex" speak, it comes out as false. The one shining light is Lindy Booth, who positively sauces her way thru the movie, making a standard horror female character far better than it is on the page. But alas, she can't drag the others with her, hamstrung by a rookie director out of his league. The subsequent non film career of all involved speaks volumes. 2/10
Directed by Jeff Wadlow, who used the money he won at the 2002 Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival to fund the project, film has a smart premise and big ambitions. Unfortunately the premise, kids at posh prep school play a lying game and invent a serial killer-who surprise to surprise comes real, is not exploited to any level of decent entertainment, horror, thriller or otherwise. It's badly acted by Julian Morris (amusingly over emphasising his English accent like he is auditioning for Twelfth Night), Jared Padalecki (who acted better when ensconced in wax in House of Wax also released this same year) and Jon Bon Jovi (out acted by his hair), while its surprisingly short on frights; or blood for that matter.
Clearly trying to craft a thinking mans slasher, Wadlow instead gets confused and winds up with a standard film of red herrings and annoying by the numbers privileged teenagers. The script is a garbled mess, stretching credibility to unacceptable levels, and even when it gets into a groove of "complex" speak, it comes out as false. The one shining light is Lindy Booth, who positively sauces her way thru the movie, making a standard horror female character far better than it is on the page. But alas, she can't drag the others with her, hamstrung by a rookie director out of his league. The subsequent non film career of all involved speaks volumes. 2/10