After spending the day yesterday running around doing projects around the house I decided to skip housework and watch a movie before going to work this evening. Netflix missed me and had a string of juicy horror films waiting in my recommend list and this one won my vote today for viewing. What seemed really promising, especially considering all of the positive reviews it held from other viewers, turned out to be a let down, in this movie watcher’s opinion.
The Final is about a group of high school kids who have been bullied by the popular crowd and have finally had enough. The plot isn’t exactly original but the tagline promised their revenge by using torture techniques learned in their history classes. So I gave it a whirl to see what the writer had in mind.
The movie is filmed in an arc where you start briefly at the end and then delve into the set up for the film. This part is filmed in black and white and is a nice intro because it leads you to wonder what happened. Then it begins to fall apart.
The next part starts out excruciatingly slow as you are witness to the type of bullying the kids are subjected to in school. We see who gets bullied by whom. The dialogue is trite and the stereotypes are enough to gag you. The set up is ho-hum boring and more depressing than anything. I suppose that’s probably the point and you are supposed to feel sorry for the kids who are bullied but this also somehow falls flat. The kids just don’t seem convincing in their portrayals on either side of the equation.
The bulk of the film takes place at a Halloween party (of course) where the cool kids are drinking and dancing and having a good time while the outcasts are skulking in the background waiting for the spiked punch to have its effect. It’s almost cliché that the film is based around a costume party but of course it’s fitting for the now-villains to wear their masks and taunt the taunters. Roles are reversed and they are now empowered as they continue to hide behind their masks gaining courage from anonymity.
So this is where the movie gets good right?
Sadly, no.
The rest of the film is filled with a lot of posturing and a lot of bad acting. I was left with the feeling that the writer was more concerned with making a point on social issues rather than writing a horror film. Yes, bullying is something that needs to have more awareness of but I think I learned more about the evil it can do to twist someone into killing from the movie Prom Night than I did from this film.
In the end, it was a letdown. I really want to like this film. There were pieces of it that were good but overall I will have to say that it was really just lame and leave it at that. If you are interested in a film that is just dark and will leave you depressed, then watch this movie. If you are interested in watching a horror film filled with torture, suspense, and generally horrific in nature, look elsewhere.
Part of the 8 films to die for series
Written by Jason Kabolati
Directed by Joey Stewart
Starring: Marc Donato, Jascha Washington, Whitney Hoy
93 mins
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