The Forsaken
1.5/4
Starring: Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Izabella Miko, Jonathan Schaech, Phina Oruche, Simon Rex, Carrie Snodgress, Alexis Thorpe
Rated R for Strong Violence/Gore, Language and Sexuality
"The Forsaken" is one of those movies where the actors spend more time preening for the camera than acting and the director spends more time assaulting the senses than telling an involving story. It's as if the filmmakers thought that the characters looked hot enough and the special effects were cool enough we wouldn't realize just how dumb this movie is. I like beauty and cool stuff to look at as much as the next guy, but I think there's more to movies than just looking at models trying to act (not successfully). Maybe my standards are just too high...
Sean (Smith) is a young guy working up his way in Hollywood. But since he's too poor to fly from California to Miami to attend his sister's wedding, he pays for the trip by driving someone's car all the way there. Along the way, he picks up a hitchhiker by the name of Nick (Fehr) since he seems like a cool bro and is willing to pay for the gas. In San Antonio, they spy a strange girl, who according to the credits is named Megan (Miko), although I'm not sure anyone says her name during the movie. Nick is determined to help the girl, but Sean wants nothing to do with it. Soon he doesn't have a choice; Megan is in the process of turning into a vampire, and she is being pursued by a nasty piece of work named Kit (Schaech), who bit her.
This is one of those movies that gives the horror genre a bad name. The acting is stiff, the plot is thin, and the director relies on camera tricks and gore to create tension. It doesn't work. "The Forsaken" is dull. It has enough energy to keep things at least watchable, but that's not really a compliment. And while a certain amount of stupidity is acceptable for a horror movie, this is pushing it. Even for a bottom-of-the-barrel flick like this. Sean and Nick have so little brain power that I might have started rooting for Kit and his posse, but they aren't any smarter.
The good looking cast was obviously chosen more for their physical appearance rather than their acting abilities. Kerr Smith can flash his pearly whites, but he isn't much of an actor. He never feels at ease with his dialogue. Brendan Fehr is better, but the silly dialogue limits whatever capabilities he has. Izabella Miko has the easiest role: all she has to do is take her top off occasionally and look drugged out. And for a legendary vampire, Jonathan Schaech is about as terrifying as a hamster. Edward Cullen was creepier (bad example, considering he was essentially a 100+ year old stalker, but you get my point).
Writer/director J.C. Cardone lists this as his favorite of all his movies. He must have low standards. Then again, considering he wrote the screenplay for "The Stepfather" remake and directed such classics as "The Slayer" and "8mm 2," maybe not. I haven't seen those movies, but if this is the best he thinks he can do, then I don't want to. There isn't much to praise about his work here. The direction is pedestrian. It rarely looks good; the cinematography is bland and the shot selection is stale. There's very little tension. And when the main trio isn't being chased, they spend their time explaining the plot (which makes itself up as it goes along). The list goes on...
This is a movie to catch when it's streaming on Netflix and you have nothing else to do. And I mean nothing.
Starring: Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr, Izabella Miko, Jonathan Schaech, Phina Oruche, Simon Rex, Carrie Snodgress, Alexis Thorpe
Rated R for Strong Violence/Gore, Language and Sexuality
"The Forsaken" is one of those movies where the actors spend more time preening for the camera than acting and the director spends more time assaulting the senses than telling an involving story. It's as if the filmmakers thought that the characters looked hot enough and the special effects were cool enough we wouldn't realize just how dumb this movie is. I like beauty and cool stuff to look at as much as the next guy, but I think there's more to movies than just looking at models trying to act (not successfully). Maybe my standards are just too high...
Sean (Smith) is a young guy working up his way in Hollywood. But since he's too poor to fly from California to Miami to attend his sister's wedding, he pays for the trip by driving someone's car all the way there. Along the way, he picks up a hitchhiker by the name of Nick (Fehr) since he seems like a cool bro and is willing to pay for the gas. In San Antonio, they spy a strange girl, who according to the credits is named Megan (Miko), although I'm not sure anyone says her name during the movie. Nick is determined to help the girl, but Sean wants nothing to do with it. Soon he doesn't have a choice; Megan is in the process of turning into a vampire, and she is being pursued by a nasty piece of work named Kit (Schaech), who bit her.
This is one of those movies that gives the horror genre a bad name. The acting is stiff, the plot is thin, and the director relies on camera tricks and gore to create tension. It doesn't work. "The Forsaken" is dull. It has enough energy to keep things at least watchable, but that's not really a compliment. And while a certain amount of stupidity is acceptable for a horror movie, this is pushing it. Even for a bottom-of-the-barrel flick like this. Sean and Nick have so little brain power that I might have started rooting for Kit and his posse, but they aren't any smarter.
The good looking cast was obviously chosen more for their physical appearance rather than their acting abilities. Kerr Smith can flash his pearly whites, but he isn't much of an actor. He never feels at ease with his dialogue. Brendan Fehr is better, but the silly dialogue limits whatever capabilities he has. Izabella Miko has the easiest role: all she has to do is take her top off occasionally and look drugged out. And for a legendary vampire, Jonathan Schaech is about as terrifying as a hamster. Edward Cullen was creepier (bad example, considering he was essentially a 100+ year old stalker, but you get my point).
Writer/director J.C. Cardone lists this as his favorite of all his movies. He must have low standards. Then again, considering he wrote the screenplay for "The Stepfather" remake and directed such classics as "The Slayer" and "8mm 2," maybe not. I haven't seen those movies, but if this is the best he thinks he can do, then I don't want to. There isn't much to praise about his work here. The direction is pedestrian. It rarely looks good; the cinematography is bland and the shot selection is stale. There's very little tension. And when the main trio isn't being chased, they spend their time explaining the plot (which makes itself up as it goes along). The list goes on...
This is a movie to catch when it's streaming on Netflix and you have nothing else to do. And I mean nothing.
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