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Directed
By: J.S. Cardone
Written By: J.S. Cardone
Starring: Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, A.J. Buckley, Izabella
Miko
Rated: R (Nudity / Violence / Language / Gore)
Running Time: 97 Min.
The
Forsaken is a teen vampire movie. There have been many unremarkable
teen horror movies out recently, so I entered the theatre
to see this one with more than a few preconceived notions.
In other words, I fully expected to see something along the
lines of I Know Who You Bit Last Summer. To my great surprise,
this film is nothing like the endless bloody stream of teen
slasher flicks that have clogged cinemas for the past five
years. The Forsaken takes a retro approach to the genre, and
that, coupled with an original take on who and what vampires
are, makes for quite an enjoyable evening of death and destruction.
The
story centers on Sean, played by Kerr Smith, who has to drive
across the United States to deliver a classic luxury car and
attend his sister's wedding. He's instructed not to make any
unnecessary stops, not to scratch the car, and above all,
not to pick up hitchhikers. It's the classic set-up, and what
follows is a road trip through the desert, straight to vampire
central.
The
entire concept of vampires is given a 21st century twist,
which may upset the many bloodsucking purists out there, but
by changing some of the rules, The Forsaken effectively distinguishes
itself from other vampire movies. And, as we all know, one
thing this genre should welcome is a nice fresh influx of
new blood!
As
for directing, I give credit to J.S. Cardone for his decision
to ignore the popular music video style in favor of a more
gritty approach. The only derivative scenes in the film are
some very short flash-edits used to depict nightmarish visions
and vampire feeding frenzies. Otherwise, the directing of
The Forsaken is handled in a very straightforward, realistic
way. As with all good storytellers, Cardone knows that a little
genuine suspense can serve to terrify much better than any
amount of gory imagery ever could.
The
acting, however, is of a quality usually reserved for only
the finest B-movies. Fortunately, this is exactly the quality
and tone that The Forsaken is going for, so the results are
once again successful.
If
you're looking for a good, fun fright, and you're dead tired
of all those Scream rip-offs, then this film may be just the
ticket. Hurry though, for as the Summer sun begins to rise,
The Forsaken may soon disappear from theatres forever.
Allen
J Vestal
A.J.'s
Place: Movies and More
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