A cast of unknowns (I recognised one name and one face) lead the way in this third (and I sincerely hope final) entry to the popular 90s horror series, as it has to be the worst film I’ve seen in ages.
It’s Fourth of July and some teens are having the time of their lives, until they are attacked by the fisherman. The teens scarper and we soon learn that it was a prank set up by five friends Amber, Zoë, Colby, Roger and P.J. Sneaking back into the crowd to bask in their glory, the group soon realizes that something went wrong and P.J. is dead. One year later, the kids begin finding messages and are attacked, before one of them dies and they have to work together to find out who knows their secret.
The film starts off well enough (with some great scenic footage) but is immediately spoiled the first time a character is forced to utter the following inane dialogue ‘Whoa, Amber, do you wanna freak everyone out?’
The cast are then forced to remake the first film (but slightly differently) before they begin dying (which is the film’s strong point in terms of gore). What little suspense we could have had is ruined by technically competent yet annoying editing, and the filmmakers also think that two sentences are enough to explain the entire plot.
The cast show promise but are never given the chance to capitalize on their talents, the filmmakers are competent but too willing to be trendy, and this is the same for every other aspect of the movie. It had the potential to be quite good, but consistently ruins its own chances thanks to its insistence to be witty and flashy.
OVERALL SUMMARY
In the end it’s all gloss and no substance. We’ve seen it all before in much better films. This really IS a 90 minute music video.
