Forever 16 (2013 TV Movie) User Reviews

Concept has potential but too many weak points

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 4 February 2014]

Raven (Tiera Skovbye) is a vampire who will always be 16. She has superpowers and she can really fight. Police detective Mac Roth (Andrea Roth) comes knocking with an offer. There was a mysterious death at a snobby private high school and Mac wants her to go investigate undercover. In exchange, Mac is willing to introduce her to others of her kind.

I like the concept of this Lifetime TV movie. It's more of a TV pilot wannabe. I can see the potential TV series. However there are a couple of things that need to improve before that happens. Tiera Skovbye is certainly beautiful, fights convincingly, and plays moody teenager well. She doesn't necessarily have a big acting range. There are some real good young actors playing the other students. I wonder if Siobhan Williams would actually be better as the lead. Tyler Johnston, and Richard Harmon are both very special actors. The acting is almost there. The style is another matter. It is strictly low rank TV production. It has no style. And the writing lacks a certain snap. The dialog needs some help. The special effects can also use more money. There are a few too many weak points.

Let's talk Canadian film-making SHALL WE?

[A_Different_Drummer · 6/10 · 20 April 2014]

Oh my. Oh my. Watching this film, I was astonished to realize that I have scribbled almost 400 contributions to the IMDb database so far, yet never actually launched into my favourite topic -- the paradox, the oxymoron, that is Canadian film-making.

Because to understand why this film rates only a 6.0 (yes, the IMDb members pretty much nailed it) you need to understand what passes for craftsmanship and artistic triumph in the frozen north.

In the 1970s there was no Canadian film industry. Seriously. Look it up. Lots of great documentaries and hockey games. Period. End of story. Then about 1972 the government commissioned a White Paper on film, wondering if perhaps messing with the Tax Code could generate a real industry..? The report was favourable, and by the mid-80s dozens of "major productions" were green-lighted in Canada, sponsored by investors who believed that glamour of the biz combined with a nice tax break was worth the risk.

It wasn't. You, kind reader, have likely never heard of the first 50 or 75 films produced at the dawn of the Canadian film revolution -- and for this you should be grateful. Produced by lawyers and accountants, crewed by whatever talent was available to hold the cameras and bash out product, scripts often written in crayon, and starring the leftovers of the Canadian TV industry, with accents so thick you lose an ocean liner in them -- these films were universally wretched. (With a few exceptions, like MEATBALLS).

But even sad stories can have happy endings, and what happened was the Hollywood producers, fed up beyond measure with paying union rates, realized that the cheaper Canadian dollar could be "parlayed" into a cheaper production cost. Wisely, they brought as much mobile talent with them as the Canadian law allowed (ie, both in front and behind the lens) and used 100% Canadian talent very sparingly.

Thusly did the Canadian industry, now suddenly a "bedroom community" of the Hollywood players in spite of itself, mature anyway until, by the end of the first decade in the 21st century, it was possible (BUT NOT ALWAYS LIKELY) to produce films in Canada which could pass for American.

Well, this ain't one of them.

Astonishingly uneven, with clever ideas that never actually go anywhere, this lack of control over the creative end of the film is itself a hallmark of the Canuck industry. The other reviewers were quite right: all dressed up, and nowhere to go. Great opening, great concept, but by the second hour the energy and the budget seemed used up, and the production quality (acting, editing, direction, writing) all start to look and feel like a bad after-school special.

BTW, Tiera Skovbye's bio is very emphatic about her natural beauty and tremendous potential, but there are far too many scenes where her uncertainty about her character and awkward delivery are painfully obvious. Worse, pairing her against Andrea Roth (the "known" name) was a huge error, because even though Roth is twice Tiera's age (give or take?), and is not consciously trying to steal scenes, Roth's natural charisma is so much higher than the younger actress' that the eye naturally follows her anyway.

Passable entertainment, but, oh my, it could have been so much better.

Solid Effort

[Ryu_2 · 7/10 · 16 September 2013]

'Forever 16' follows the adventures of Raven, a teenage vampire recruited by a policewoman named Mac. I liked this film overall, but a few things seemed underdeveloped. I'll just discuss the highs and lows of what appear to be the four key story lines.

I. The Raven/Mac Relationship

Surprisingly, this story line left a bit to be desired. This is the core relationship of the film, right? Two women who are alone in life -- with a few things in common -- begin forming an unlikely mother/daughter bond. I enjoyed what I saw, but I was expecting much more.

However, I liked how Mac gradually warmed up to Raven as the film progressed, embracing the idea of being there for her. These two had some nice moments of humor as well. There's also a revelation about Mac's past, which makes this relationship all the more intriguing.

II. The School Mystery

When two high school kids die under mysterious circumstances, Raven is sent in to pose as a student. Overall, the mystery doesn't exactly draw you in. Maybe the protagonists could've asked more questions and encountered more obstacles to spice things up.

There's certainly a good amount of time dedicated to the mystery, though, so I applaud the writers for making a decent effort in that regard. The resolution was fun to watch.

III. Raven's Detective Skills

I know that she's lived for a while, but Raven seemed like too much of a natural at all of the investigative stuff. Going back to my first point, perhaps the writers could've shown Mac training her more, along with some bonding moments.

Still, it was nice to watch Raven using her brain to put all the pieces together. And it's especially fun when her supernatural vampire abilities come into play.

IV. The Raven/Connor Relationship

The film's attempt at a romance. It appears that some of this story line was edited out, because it didn't make much sense to me when Raven began falling for Connor. A true romance involves more than a few jokes and pleasantries here and there.

These characters do have few nice moments, though, and the actors handle things well enough.

Overall, I count myself as a fan of this film. I'm fond of Raven and Mac's world, so I definitely hope to see a follow-up.

Made for TV or failed Series Pilot ?

[michaelcollins10-1 · 7/10 · 15 October 2013]

As far as this movie standing on it's own, It was OK and a nice bit of diversion for a boring rainy Saturday afternoon. unfortunately there are many holes and missing points to the story such as the romance that Raven finds her self in seem to come out of nowhere as there is little to support it. In the beginning Roth confronts Raven about being a Vampire and blocks her from leaving by slapping her hand away as Raven tries to grab Roth's wrist, it just didn't seem authentic. Then there is the fight in the warehouse with the drug dealer where Raven is pushed into a pile of boxes, where's her Vampire strength. the relationship between the 2 leading ladies seems to get better with no explanation as to how it happens and there is the fact that Raven is almost 92 and treated like a teen with being threatened with being grounded, it just wasn't explained properly. These and the other missing pieces make it pretty obvious that some one wanted this to be a series and had several episode of scripts but had to condense them to a movie instead.

There could be others to follow this but I doubt it.

Suitable for young girls at a slumber party, they will appreciate this movie more than there brothers.

Well done and Andrea Roth is excellent in the roll of Raven

[hatcher-bill · 24 August 2013]

The made for TV movie "Forever 16" runs smoothly on a par as the Lost Girl/Supernatural series' but more tastefully done. That is to say without all the sex scenes the producers seem to think we need. It has great suspense and moves along quitewell. Andrea Roth plays Raven the vampire very well and she has greatfacial expressions and actions that are believable of a teenage girl. She has made her mark as an actress with other parts but has done very well with this one. I would actually love to see this made into a series, tho, it would take at least (2) shows for each new school she visits for the drama and suspense to be effective. The plot is established as the new street drug "Sugar" is becoming deadly for some students and others will kill over it. I give it a 4 out of 5 stars as a fantasy/sci-fi type show, compared to others airing on TV right now. Some series on TV right now only deserve a 3 or 4 star rating. I would love to see more shows that are so well written and put together like this one. I hope others can see the potential of this becoming a series, so let's hear it.

Enjoyable

[bluesquirrel2004 · 7/10 · 9 January 2023]

Sure, it won't win any awards, and it was a bit shallow for a movie and more suited as a tv show, but it was a quick and enjoyable viewing, even viewing it for the second time.

The premise is intriguing - a vampire recruited into the police force fighting the most dangerous of human crime, being different to both Buffy and Angel where they exclusively fight the supernatural.

This could be quite interesting as a TV Show. This movie could be the pilot episode and the very open ending certainly makes allowance for a continuation.

I guess after nine years the chances of this happening seem to be quite low.

More movie or TV show

[tigger_607 · 9/10 · 28 January 2014]

Great movie but the end sucked, when she was handed an the name of her maker and then it just cuts out. Come on there had to do a better ending than that, just letting us hanging there wanting to know what she is going to or if she is going continue working for the police. Are they going to make more firms or are the writes and Lifetime setting the scene for a new original TV series because that is something that i would watch every week because for me at would be a little veronica mars meets Buffy meets vampire diaries. But apart of the cliff hanging of an ending the movies was great just the right amount of horror, action and romance to be great watch that anyone who into vampires would watch.

Enjoyable movie

[pholdsworth-25455 · 7/10 · 30 August 2021]

Really enjoyable film for the whole family. Quite well made would be nice as a series.

Pretty good!

[CourtneyReneex3 · 10/10 · 23 August 2013]

I really liked this movie, but the ending? come on! is there going to be another one? I hope so. It doesn't feel finished. She gets handed a envelope and finds out what it is and it ends? No revenge? No looking for who did this? There has to be more! I want there to be more. I want to see what happens between her and the boy. I knew from the beginning about that other guy. What is going to happen with him? Its not finished! It has so much more to explain and to finish. Does she ever find others like her? Does she end up turning the guy so they can be together forever? If she decides to stay, does she still continue high school? and if so, won't people think its weird that she hasn't aged? They must find out sooner or later what she is.