Back of Box: A
serial killer terrorizes the horror-stricken town of Canyon City. Plagued by a 10-year-old tale of the mysterious murder
of Devon Anderson, this community still harbors curiosity when the current victims - and the evidence surrounding their murders
- appear to be very similar to what happened to Devon and the parents accused of killing him. Did Devon die? Convinced
Devon is alive - and the killer - a group of teens set off to find and stop him from murdering again. Staying one step
ahead of the authorities, they find out the killer is too smart and too strong - running is not an option. They
must fight to escape the killer's wrath and get one step closer to answering the legend and mystery that surrounds that fateful
night.
Plot: The back of
the box makes it a little confusing. Let me break it down. A condemned Canyon Elementary School is reopened
as Canyon High School. Excited students head to their first day of class, but some can't shake the memory of Devon's
ghost. Devon was a little boy who, exactly ten years earlier, was said to have been killed by his parents
right across the street from what used to be Canyon Elementary School. The parents were made famous when found
innocent of Devon's murder and Devon's body was never found. Now Devon is back and he's not the only bloody
boy (Lame joke...even by my standards).
Acting: Karan Ashley and Johnny
Yong Bosch , of former Power Rangers fame, give pretty decent performances as hero and heroine. The rest of the
main cast does a pretty good job as well. Kristy Vaughan, Johnny Cruz, and Paul T. Taylor are all nod worthy.
The script wasn't the greatest dialogue wise, but it could've been way worse.
Gore: Body Count (14+)
A decent sized body count, but I felt like this film could've done a lot more with the gore. There's a lot
of blood splatter and a severed limb or two, but other than that it's mostly aftermaths. Some of them looked great,
but some of them felt like I could've done better.
Suspense: There is
one very good chase scene in this film. It involves the school and the film's supporting actor and actress...that's
it. The rest of the film's suspense came from its many action sequences. Karan and Johnny used
to be Power Rangers, and they didn't change their ways, at all, for this film.
It's always nice to see victims fight back, but when the victims are ninjas...it's way cooler.
Directing: Most of
the camera work here doesn't make sense. Bad set-ups and blocking run rampant in the slower scenes of this film.
The P.O.V.'s and flashbacks are tolerable, but the real standout scenes, of course, are the action scenes. Every fight
scene was on point with its shaky frames and hovering, gliding shots (Go, go Power Rangers).
Tech: The lighting
made this film a very clear viewing experience. Even the night scenes in this film were bright and well lit. The
sound was even and well rounded, for the most part. The soundtrack didn't bother me that much either, everything was
up tempo and "hip."
Other: I loved how
the script played out like a murder mystery with a heavy dose of action. The dialogue could've used work, but it
doesn't matter because I love me some Power Rangers.
Final Word: Watch it! If you like
to have fun with your slasher films this is definitely one to add to the collection. I mean, come on, a slasher film
starring former Power Rangers!?!?! You can't beat that!
