Back of Box: When
a mysterious groupie joins legendary cursed band, “The Dark Knights,” a series of unexplained murders derail their
comeback tour.
Plot: Rock concert
pyrotechnics go awry and a young boy gets trampled, one year later sister of said boy infiltrates the band responsible to
exact her revenge. It's a neat idea, I'll give it that. The band angle has been played before and so has
the crazed fan idea, but I like the way this one played out. They try to play it like a mystery for the first part,
but there's never really any doubt as to who the killer is. Points for trying though.
Acting: The script
here wasn't the greatest, but I give Taryn Manning a lot of credit because her character, Riley, was beautifully psychotic.
Betsy Rue gets a shout out for her portrayal of Nikki, the biggest bitch ever! Travis (Hal Ozsan), the lead singer of
Dark Knights did good, but I preferred the douche bag stylings of the bassist, Davis (Scott Anthony Leet), way more.
Oh, Eric Roberts did okay as the band's manager, Angus, but I was just waiting for his death scene and I'm pretty sure he
was too.
Gore: Body Count (7) A
respectable seven. You know, normally the gore is a big deal for me, especially in lower budget fare, but I didn't mind
the lack of blood this film offered. Drowning, electrocution, and suffocating are pretty tame ways to die, but in
this film it worked out. All the death scenes were well done and fit because the murderer was trying to not draw attention.
There were two, single stab deaths that could've used something more, but that's a small gripe for me.
Suspense: The final
showdown is about the only thing that gets the heart rate going in this one. In fact, this film doesn't even have
potential for anything greater, as far as suspense is concerned. Everything else is just simple and straight
to the point. It's a little lackluster, but what can you do?
Directing: The camera
work was a little shaky from time to time, but Mark L. Lester did an excellent job of moving the story along. The
concert scenes were a little rocky, but I could lay that on the editing as much as I could the directing. It's not easy
working with live performances.
Tech: The soundtrack
was fun, up beat and modern rock-ish. The Dark Knights' songs had a nice Hinder feel to them, even if they
did fall in the Nickleback category for catchiness (Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad).
The sound was a little choppy, but, again, it gets tricky when "live music" is involved. The lighting had the sweetest
gig here. When you're working with a template of dim bars and stage shows, how could you go wrong?
Other: Groupies are
always good for two things; tits and drug use. Trust me they don't disappoint. Actually, the only one that
does is the one implied by the title. Our lead groupie, Riley, gives us neither, unfortunately. She's
just lucky the rest of them give their fair share.
Final Word: I don't hate it, that's for
sure. I wouldn't say it's at the top of my list either, but it's a fun way to kill an hour and a half.
It's definitely worth at least one viewing for Taryn Manning's performance. Otherwise, I'd recommend it to
rock band slasher fans and those that like a good B-movie.
