Reviewed by Carol Sullivan
Genre: Horror
Released: October 16th, 2006
Rating: Unrated
Director: Harry Basil
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Starring: Kristin Cavallari, Leah Pipes, Josh Henderson, Andrew Lawrence, Lou Diamond Philips, Sally Kirkland, Geoffrey Lewis
Studio: Image Entertainment
On DVD: March 25, 2008
DVD FEATURES
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Feature Commentary With Director Harry Basil
On the Set of Fingerprints
What's the Scariest Thing You've Ever Seen?
Theatrical Trailer
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Most of us have already heard the urban legend about the small-town-America railroad crossing where a bus-load of children died violently; the bus struck by a speeding freight train. The legend says that if you stop near the tracks and put your car in nuetral, that the ghosts of the little children will push your car across the tracks to safety, leaving tiny ghostly handprints on your car's rear bumper. This legend has actually been tested by scientists and ghost-hunters alike, with mixed results. So, there are still believers out there...
Fingerprints centers around this long told tale, beginning as Crystal (Kristin Cavallari, Laguna Beach-TheReal Orange County) picks up her sister Melanie (Leah Pipes, Malcolm in the Middle) after her stint in re-hab for a drug overdose. Melanie and Crystal's parents have moved them to the tiny town of Emerald, Texas, to get their daughter away from the evil influences of big-city life. On the way home, Crystal tells Melanie of the town's ghostly legend, which Melanie does not believe, even after she sees a strange little girl playing near the said railroad crossing.
Melanie soon makes friends at the high school and after seeing more eerie apparitions of the children, tries to find out more about the history of her new town. She even confides in the school counselor, played by Lou Diamond Philips, but with her history of drug abuse, no one will believe that her visions are real; and when teenagers start disappearing, poor Melanie even finds herself as a suspect.
But, Melanie knows that the ghosts of the children are trying to send her a message -- they need her help and she needs theirs. After speaking with the daughter of a long-dead train-conductor, Melanie soon realizes that there never was a bus crash. Something truly evil, somthing that the little ghost children know all too well, has come back to Emerald, Texas to take more of the town's children.
Fingerprints, directed by Harry Basil and written by Brian and Jason Cleveland is a clever and fresh movie, though the ending seemed a little silly. I believe it could have been scarier if the ghosts were spookier, but then again, they were the well-meaning ghosts of children. The movie, as well-paced and creepy as it was, could have used some more Boo-Factor.
I had some trouble finding this movie at the local rental-stores, but if you can find it, I do recommend it as a rental. And be sure to catch the Special Features section, when they ask the cast members, on set, "What's the scariest thing you've ever seen?" The cast reactions are funny.
All in all, Fingerprints makes for a good rental, especially if you live near a dark stretch of road near a lonely rail-road crossing...
Overall Rating: 3
VIDEO | Original Trailer
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