Post by Mr.HoRrOr on Jan 31, 2006 13:10:26 GMT -5
Plot:Tamara (Jenna Dewan), an unattractive girl who is picked on by her peers returns after her death as a sexy seductress to exact revenge.
Cast:
Jenna Dewan
Matthew Marsden
Claudette Mink
Chad Faust
Katie Stuart
Gil Hacohen
Melissa Elias
Chris Sigurdson
My Thoughts:Great movie driven by the performance of newcomer Jenna Dewan.
Review:"Tamara" is the story of an unpopular girl who makes her situation even worse when she exposes a steroid scandal brewing within the football team at her high school. The local jocks then decide to play a revenge prank on her, which turns out to have disasterous implications when during a struggle, Tamara ends up smashing her head on an end table and ultimately dies...or did she? Being the assholes that most jocks and popular kids in these sorts of movies are, they decide why screw up their futures and wind up in prison, when they can just bury who they proclaim to be *the schools biggest loser*, and forget it ever happened. A few of the kids rebel to make the situation an interesting one for a few moments. But the geeky kid, realizing that his scholarship is on the line, and two of the other kids realizing that her dna is all over them, eventually fold to peer pressure and go along with the plan.Now back to the *Or did she?* part. It turns out that Tamara albeit barely...was still alive, but her injuries were so severe that she couldn't muster up the necessary strength to alert them of this, nor escape the grave she was stuck in once she was buried. The kids think they're in the clear, until Tamara shows up at school the next day, sporting an outfit you'd sooner catch Britney Spears wearing and not Tamara...or atleast not the old Tamara. This new Tamara is a total 360 from her old, "homely" looking version...but how can this be? How can someone they killed come back from the dead? Seems our girl Tamara had a huge crush on one of her teachers, played by Matthew Marsden (The british guy from "Anacondas"), who turns in a pretty good performance I must say. Her crush was so huge, that she went as far as to perform a love spell but at the last minute, backed out of spilling the necessary blood to complete the incantation. But thanks to those rapscalian asshole popular kids, Tamaras blood was spilled during the struggle...and when she was buried, it bled right onto the spell itself which she was carrying with her. Which means it's "Houston...we have a Problem" for the ones responsible for her death. Jenna Dewan really shows off her acting range and makes this character totally hers in this movie. She plays dual roles as the shy, social outcast version of Tamara, and later in the film, the sexy, seductive yet cruel version of Tamara. The supporting cast which features Claudette Mink, Matthew Marsden, Katie Stuart, Chad Faust, and Melissa Elias also turn in some pretty nice performances. Especially Faust and Elias as the meanest ones in the group of popular kids. "Tamara" isn't a hack and slash fest but it's more of a mix of alot of different genres yet overshadowed by the horror genre. It shifts from romance, to thriller, to horror as the film goes on. Theres even some drama mixed in when we see a few scenes of Tamaras rough home life with her alcoholic father. Jenna Dewan is more likeable when she becomes the queen of mean in the film and begins to get even with those responsible for her demise. There are some great FX and visuals used in this movie as well. Theres a particularly nasty scene where Tamara makes one kid hallucinate the emotions that she was feeling when she was buried alive. But thats just laying the groundwork for a truly horrific scene that comes just a few moments later...and trust me, genre fans will be talking about this scene for years to come! Even though she does some of the most evilest of deeds at times, you still find yourself rooting for Tamara in some capacity. Which is once again a testament to the great acting job of the supporting cast in playing great heel characters and making us hate them rather than become annoyed by them. I also have to credit the writer Jeffrey Reddick, and Jeremy Haft...the director of the film. They make sure to strike a chord with the viewer by getting us to really despise these characters, but when Tamara undergoes her *change*, they playup the darkside of her character so well, they even managed to invoke just a tad bit of sympathy in me for the bad kids who are now thrown into the role of the victim when earlier on, they were the predators. You also have to like what Reddick and Haft did with the character of Tamara as far as her actions. Rather than make her a female slasher, they gave her powers to sway people into doing things they normally wouldn't do, which added a layer of entertainment,suspense, and intrigue when the film nears it's end, and Tamara is through playing games and ready to put her full plans into motion. "Tamara" hits theaters Friday in limited capacity but I would suggest for any horror genre fan to go see it or seek it out at the closest theater near you thats playing it. It's a really good horror movie, driven by the awesome performance of it's female lead, and a stronger than usual supporting cast.
Pros: Great supporting cast, Jenna Dewan is terrific as Tamara. Nice fx in the hallucination scene, and the scene involving one unlucky kid and a box cutter was classic. Nice original score as well, and a solid story.
Cons:Minor gripe, but a moderately unclear ending.
Overall:One of those rare performance driven horror movies you don't often see nowadays. Some of those big studio heads in Hollywood need to take a look at this film, and learn how to develop a "real" female lead in a horror movie.