I had waited a long time to see this film and was shocked to discover that it’s one of those little films that you catch late on TV one night and enjoy, only to find that you will be hard pushed to ever see it again.
The film centres around a group of students enrolled in Horror 101, a class about the psychology of fear.
The class is at loggerheads with one another, and their teacher seems to be playing with their minds to further manipulate the tense situation.
Due to a scheduling conflict, the kids have to take their final on a Thursday night, and they arrive only to find that their teacher is nowhere to be found.
As the kids disappear one by one, they discover that someone is playing a very different kind of practical joke. One with deadly consequences.
The film looks good and has a familiar cast including Josh Holland, Bo Derek and Justin Urich (before he became super fat and obnoxious for Monster Man) which helps make the characters that little bit more likeable or unlikeable.
The film has a few little plot holes but not as many as I had read about on the net. I know people who have had to take finals on Saturdays, and I myself have had classes take place at night due to scheduling conflicts. Another peev that made the ending implausible for some, was the fact that it ended on a Thursday. Schools are set to finish for summer here in Scotland this Thursday, so it could well happen.
The film is never unnecessarily gory or violent but gives off a creepy little vibe, and even manages a couple of mini jumps.
A competently crafted and executed story makes for a nice change of pace and a nice little horror movie.
OVERALL SUMMARY
Not a genre classic in the making, but for what its worth, it managed to keep me entertained for the duration.