The plot isn't bad: A 'Little Red Riding Hood' serial killer stalks men (for an idiotic reason, you'll find out by the end) on a New England college campus, stabbing them to death and filling their stomachs with stone. Unfortunately, it was pretty much done (in the reverse) with the French slasher 'Deep in the Woods' a few years prior. Mix that with some 'Don't Look Now' and every other college slasher ever made, and you have your story. Regardless of its originality, I still thought it could be a cool idea. . . but it's the execution that ruins it.
The actors all seemed to be 'come as you are' kinda people. The director obviously didn't expect them to dress acceptably, or shave, or look good. . . or know how to act. But, hey, there's only so much you can do with a shell of a script, so I'll try not to blame the actors too much. I mean. . . the writer had the people rhyming. If I wanted rhyming, Dr. Seuss is the way to go. The gore and violence seems to be mostly composed of gurgling sounds, shy cameramen, and fake blood in bicycle pumps. Isn't that what we horror fans always look for in a good slasher? (Please note sarcasm.) The direction and cinematography attempts to be artsy, but ends up just plain dumb. And there were parts where I actually laughed out loud at the camera-work. For instance, in a library conversation where the cameraman seemed to forget where he was supposed to be pointing the camera, so he just jerked it to one side and, I assume, hoped no one would notice. But, if you don't notice, I suppose you should exchange braille for films.
In the end, ignoring all of the poor technical aspects of the film, it's still watchable and may be enjoyable to fans of the normal 'teen/college' (though many were way, WAY above teen and only pretending to be young) slasher flicks. . . and, while it does have a bit more intelligence to it, it's simply not enough and it only hampers the enjoyability of the film. The one thing the film did have going for it is a good amount of suspense. But, the suspense is quickly ruined for it when you realized there is absolutely NO mystery at all throughout the entire film. I mean, we saw the killer's face numerous times, and yet we were still supposed to be trying to figuring out a mystery? Don't think so. Suspense & Mystery, in a film like this, should usually go hand in hand. But if you can't utilize both, try to at least master one and just kinda hint at the other.
Overall, the film is less-than-mediocre, which (for me) is the worst thing a film can achieve. Make it awful and infamous, or make it good and famous. Mediocrity is not memorable.
Final Verdict: 3/10.
The actors all seemed to be 'come as you are' kinda people. The director obviously didn't expect them to dress acceptably, or shave, or look good. . . or know how to act. But, hey, there's only so much you can do with a shell of a script, so I'll try not to blame the actors too much. I mean. . . the writer had the people rhyming. If I wanted rhyming, Dr. Seuss is the way to go. The gore and violence seems to be mostly composed of gurgling sounds, shy cameramen, and fake blood in bicycle pumps. Isn't that what we horror fans always look for in a good slasher? (Please note sarcasm.) The direction and cinematography attempts to be artsy, but ends up just plain dumb. And there were parts where I actually laughed out loud at the camera-work. For instance, in a library conversation where the cameraman seemed to forget where he was supposed to be pointing the camera, so he just jerked it to one side and, I assume, hoped no one would notice. But, if you don't notice, I suppose you should exchange braille for films.
In the end, ignoring all of the poor technical aspects of the film, it's still watchable and may be enjoyable to fans of the normal 'teen/college' (though many were way, WAY above teen and only pretending to be young) slasher flicks. . . and, while it does have a bit more intelligence to it, it's simply not enough and it only hampers the enjoyability of the film. The one thing the film did have going for it is a good amount of suspense. But, the suspense is quickly ruined for it when you realized there is absolutely NO mystery at all throughout the entire film. I mean, we saw the killer's face numerous times, and yet we were still supposed to be trying to figuring out a mystery? Don't think so. Suspense & Mystery, in a film like this, should usually go hand in hand. But if you can't utilize both, try to at least master one and just kinda hint at the other.
Overall, the film is less-than-mediocre, which (for me) is the worst thing a film can achieve. Make it awful and infamous, or make it good and famous. Mediocrity is not memorable.
Final Verdict: 3/10.