Amusement (2009)

Saturday, 17 January 2009 00:00

DVDs - Reviews

Reviewed by Carol Sullivan

Genre: Horror
Released: January 20th, 2009
Rating: R for strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity

Director: John Simpson
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His Pleasure is Your Pain...

Some time ago, I remember being impressed by the trailer for Amusement, so I grabbed it as soon as it hit the rental shelves. It had looked so scary that I had planned my evening around it; popcorn, dimmed lights, thinly-veiled anticipation... I should have known; often trailers are better than the actual movie. But, I have to say that while the film will in no way change your life, it does deliver some good tension and a story that keeps you guessing...

The premise is simple enough: an unbalanced boy grows up to get revenge on the childhood friends that were cruel to him. That said, the filmmakers put an interesting spin on the story; we see three different women having three different experiences. At the end, the three stories collide when the women realize who their tormentor is and why.

The only real problem I had with this movie was with the villain, or as the credits refer to him: The Laugh. Played by Keir O'Donnell, this character has multiple personalities and isn't very scary. Outside of the Tabitha story(Katheryn Winnick, Cold Souls), when our bad guy dons a clown costume to stalk her, he doesn't come off as frightening.

Written by Jake Wall (Hitcher and When a Stranger Calls remakes) and Directed by John Simpson, Amusement is visually interesting and the story pulls you in; but the acting leaves a lot to be desired. It makes the movie feel corny and low-budget at times. Too bad, because the movie had the potential to be terrifying.

While Amusement left me feeling like it was missing something, it does make for an amusing rental.

Overall Rating: 2

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Last Updated ( Friday, 27 March 2009 15:09 )