Tamara (2005)

Director:

Jeremy Haft

Writer (WGA):

Jeffrey Reddick (written by)

Release Date:

3 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Karma's a bitch.

Plot:

Tamara, an unattractive girl, who is picked on by her peers returns after her death as a sexy seductress to exact revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Witchcraft | Revenge | High School | Spell | Prank

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jenna Dewan	...	Tamara Riley
Katie Stuart	...	Chloe
Chad Faust	...	Jesse
Bryan Clark	...	Shawn
Melissa Elias	...	Kisha
Gil Hacohen	...	Patrick
Marc Devigne	...	Roger
Matthew Marsden	...	Bill Natolly
Claudette Mink	...	Alison Natolly
Chris Sigurdson	...	Mr. Riley
Sarah Blondin	...	Freshman Girl #1
Magally Zelaya	...	Freshman Girl #2
Ernesto Griffith	...	Cop #1
Brian Davisson	...	Security Guard
Brandy Jaques	...	Receptionist

MPAA:

Rated R for sequences of strong bloody violence, language, sexuality and teen drinking.

Runtime:

98 min | Philippines:95 min (cut)

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | USA:R | Germany:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:18A (Manitoba) | Philippines:R-13 | Australia:MA | Italy:VM14

Filming Locations:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Integrated Films & Management

Trivia:

Patrick's insult to Tamara early in the film, "trailer-trash whore", was ad-libbed by the actor. This was not in the script since writer Jeffrey Reddick himself grew up in a trailer.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the scene where Tamara is tearing the love binding spell from her spell book, the page comes out clean with no jagged tears. The jagged tear where Chloe will later replace the spell into the book can be seen behind the page being torn.

Quotes:

Patrick: Sorry, Mrs. Natolly. Tamara wants you dead.

Movie Connections:

References I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)

Soundtrack:

Shatter

Nothing Remarkable.

"Tamara" is about a teenage outcast. She is ridiculed constantly by her classmates, lives with a drunken father, and has a crush on her English teacher. When some fellow peers decide to play a big prank on Tamara at a motel late one night, the poor girl is accidentally killed, her head smashed onto the corner of a table. The group of popular high-schoolers decide to bury the body and never speak of the incident again. But the following day, Tamara is back at school, with a completely new style, a major change from the mousy outcast she used to be. Little did the teens know, Tamara practices witchcraft, and now her soul is hell-bent on taking bloody revenge on those who wronged her.

If you were expecting something original, you probably won't want to look here. The basic premise of the movie is a complete rip-off of "Carrie", and the whole witchcraft, rising from the dead thing reminded me a bit of "Pet Sematary". The story was overused, and the acting wasn't great either. The teens who accidentally kill Tamara speak after the accident as if they didn't just kill someone, and seem a little too comfortable with the fact that they just buried her body out in the woods. The film lacks any shocks or suspense, which is a major negative in a movie of this type, and the script wasn't at the best quality either.

Bottom line is, this movie isn't anything new. It's your basic "return from the dead" teenage revenge movie, basically more recycled supernatural teen stuff. Kind of like "Carrie" mixed with "Pet Sematary", but not even half as good as either of those films. Don't go out of your way to see it, unless you are really, really interested. 5/10.