A horror film about art created by experiencing torture has high ambition. Unfortunately, the end result falls far short. This film cries out to be extreme horror, but instead, the camera constantly shies away from showing anything too terrible. It's by far not the worst movie I've seen, but it begs for the kind of treatment you see in, say, Baskin, or French extreme cinema like Martyrs. Instead, the camera constantly looks away, as if unwilling to engage with the core concept long enough to let the viewer make up their mind. I'd like to see what someone like Clive Barker could have done with the concept; there's a gem of an interesting idea here, but the execution just isn't good enough.
3 Reviews
End of Term Review
olivermarks3 October 2023
Warning: Spoilers
"Art is all about the idea...You witness the concept"
End of Term...a film that takes the 'who dunnit' narrative and blends horror to create an oozing mixed genre mystery pie...imagine Scream but set in the UK with the ocult..
I felt the film started off with lots of questions, leaving you trying to figure out what's going on from the get go...an excellent start in my opinion and a classic mystery convention. This works well.
Moreover, I felt like the films main view point through Melissa fitted nicely, allowing for the audience to follow along nicely without losing their way through the narrative...It gives you one perspective to slowly pick apart if you feel the they are an unreliable narrative lead.
The film boasts some worth of recognition performances particularly from Chelsea Edge (Melissa), David Bamber (DI Jim Burman) & Julie Graham (DI Stacy Harcourt). Their performances lead the way with this film, through their convincing and narrative building performances.
A fantastic element is through how the climax of the story is discovered by the audience at the same time as the detectives, which leaves you feeling like you are also piecing together the case alongside the detectives.
There was a twist towards the end which altered my perception of this concoction horror...it transformed the film into something I never expected. I felt less like it started as a generic horror film and concluded as a multi-genre mixed bag.
Downsides however are due to predictability of the plot...I felt like I could see aspects of the story from a mile away, which unfortunately ruins the 'who dunnit' element. Some performances by the cast felt wooden and lacked personality, which I didn't feel totally suprised by.
Despite the film being visually pleasing, it still had that cheap feel in places which took me away from enjoying every aspect of the viewing experience. But as a quick snappy horror it fits the bill.
This film reminds me of a B-Movie To conclude, End of Term...a film that, although not perfect, hits those sweet spots that a horror fan craves.
Despite it's £2,000,000 budget, the filmmakers make the most of that budget and utilise it in the best ways.
Moreover, I felt like the films main view point through Melissa fitted nicely, allowing for the audience to follow along nicely without losing their way through the narrative...It gives you one perspective to slowly pick apart if you feel the they are an unreliable narrative lead.
The film boasts some worth of recognition performances particularly from Chelsea Edge (Melissa), David Bamber (DI Jim Burman) & Julie Graham (DI Stacy Harcourt). Their performances lead the way with this film, through their convincing and narrative building performances.
A fantastic element is through how the climax of the story is discovered by the audience at the same time as the detectives, which leaves you feeling like you are also piecing together the case alongside the detectives.
There was a twist towards the end which altered my perception of this concoction horror...it transformed the film into something I never expected. I felt less like it started as a generic horror film and concluded as a multi-genre mixed bag.
Downsides however are due to predictability of the plot...I felt like I could see aspects of the story from a mile away, which unfortunately ruins the 'who dunnit' element. Some performances by the cast felt wooden and lacked personality, which I didn't feel totally suprised by.
Despite the film being visually pleasing, it still had that cheap feel in places which took me away from enjoying every aspect of the viewing experience. But as a quick snappy horror it fits the bill.
This film reminds me of a B-Movie To conclude, End of Term...a film that, although not perfect, hits those sweet spots that a horror fan craves.
Despite it's £2,000,000 budget, the filmmakers make the most of that budget and utilise it in the best ways.
BBC Cop Show? Failed Art Student?
thalassafischer14 April 2024
The aesthetics of this film are not great for a flick ostensibly about artists. Everything is quite manufactured and middle brow, nothing screamed talent to me - perhaps the idea was to make fun of people who major in art who end up peaking senior year, never to be heard from again. End of Term is not "atmospheric," I felt that they couldn't even get the setting right. The artist-turned-serial-killer's house looked about twenty years old and nothing special; and the students had terrible taste in decor for such "creative" minds.
Otherwise it looks and feels like a slow moving cop show filmed by BBC TV. It has that Channel 4/PBS sheen. I only kept watching for the mystery factor, at least they managed to drag out the particulars of the plot to keep the audience guessing. But it wasn't an especially fun ride. Forgettable, not recommended, but I've seen worse.
Otherwise it looks and feels like a slow moving cop show filmed by BBC TV. It has that Channel 4/PBS sheen. I only kept watching for the mystery factor, at least they managed to drag out the particulars of the plot to keep the audience guessing. But it wasn't an especially fun ride. Forgettable, not recommended, but I've seen worse.
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