7eventy 5ive

The plot of 7EVENTY 5IVE involves college kids who play a cruel phone game that unexpectedly (to them, if not to fans of horror) gets them in over their heads. The STORY of 7EVENTY 5IVE, on the other hand, is that of a horror film that had a wee little bit of promise, sadly outweighed by really bad writing.

What could have been a fun, if somewhat silly, old-fashioned slasher tale is derailed early on by its filmmakers' misguided belief that the audience would enjoy watching a bunch of loud, whiny rich kids bitching at each other for most of the film's running time. With the exception of a police detective played by Rutger Hauer, (in a minor role that is designed mainly to add the movie's only star power) every character on screen is a different breed of young A-hole.

Male and female, black and white, straight and gay, an entire ensemble of shallow and shrill college kids carries the bulk of the film's narrative. Worse, since the tale deals with a PARTY game gone awry, most of the time the scenes are completely filled with these little b*****ds. Because of this, there are few breaks for the viewer, who must put up with the angry sniping of the thinly-drawn protagonists. Even though at least some of these people are supposedly friends, invariably all characters interact in a very hostile manner, long before any genuine conflict has actually arisen. This leads to the worst possible result in a slasher film: The audience, intended to care about the leads, instead not only cheers on the anonymous killer, but wishes that he had arrived to start picking off the vacuous brats far earlier.

The real shame of this poor characterization is that otherwise 7EVENTY 5IVE actually DID have some potential. Visually it's fine. First-time directors Brian Hooks and Deon Taylor know how to build a suspenseful mood. They also manage to deliver on some competent, if sparse, moments of classic 80s-style gore. Surprisingly, the production's cast is also fairly able. It isn't that the actors aren't capable of expressing realistic human emotion; it is simply that the screenplay (co-written by newcomer Vashon Nutt and director Hooks, who fared much better behind the camera than with a keyboard) is short of such moments.

7EVENTY 5IVE can hardly be recommended, as its familiar premise and few thrills can't outweigh the bad taste left behind by a story driven by a gaggle of unpleasant characters. In this tepid whodunnit, the real mystery is why anyone should care about a group of young folk who can't even manage to like each other.

I expected the absolute minimal when renting "7eventy 5ive" and, even though the opening sequences seemed to confirm I was about to see yet another abysmal and irritating modern slasher flick, the whole thing eventually turned out to be an entertaining and moderately surprising movie. Sometimes the opening credits alone are enough to betray the quality-level of the entire film, and in the case of "7eventy 5ive" this already was a pretty bad omen. Luckily the movie got a whole lot better after that. The story idea (of the intro as well as of the whole movie) isn't too bad, but the execution is terrible, with the hopelessly unclear editing of gory murders interlarded with the most amateurishly accomplished credit you've ever seen. During some kind of party event, the kids of several couples are in the bedroom making prank calls to random people. The night ends in a complete bloodbath when the parents receive a visit from an axe-wielding maniac. The title of the movie refers to a prank call game where the player has to try and keep the other person on the line for at least 75 seconds. Ten years after the massacre, some of the survivors are still playing this game with their new college friends, but once again the prank backfires on them when another (or the same?) killer answers the phone and decides to make a house call after. "7eventy 5ive" is a pretty standard and unmemorable slasher movie containing all the basic screenplay ingredients (dumb bimbo girls, macho guys, transparent red herrings, …) but also a handful of mildly imaginative elements (like a neat attempt to a surprise end-twist, some okay humor and a even a little bit of suspense). The murders are, in good old 80's tradition, engrossing and plentiful. The hooded killer swings around an impressive axe, so you may prepare to see various brutal beheadings, limb amputation and more similarly repulsive stuff. The soundtrack somewhat annoyed me, but maybe that's because I'm not much of a hip-hop fan. The youthful cast isn't as bad and untalented as all the other reviewers claim they are (except for the main blond chick) and it was very nice to see Rutger Hauer in the brief supportive role of veteran police officer. I assumed his character would be the typically sarcastic and witty copper, but it actually was a serious role. If you choose to watch "7eventy 5ive" today, you'll probably won't remember much about it tomorrow, but at least it offered some fun and thrills while it lasted. Personally, I appreciate modest and small-scaled productions like this over boisterous and pretentious films that claim to save the genre, like, oh I don't know, "Hatchet"?

When I caught a glimpse of the title I thought are we going to get another try-hard hip slasher, but actually I found "7eventy 5ive" to be a mildly passable, and almost 80s throwback after a tediously slow mid-section it picks up momentum for the final half-hour leading to it's outrageously tacky climax and downright cop out ending. It won't win awards for originality, because it's as systematic as you can get and steals its thunder in the way of thrills (usual cheap jump scares), location (secluded mansion) and motivation from other films. The gleaming direction is by-the-book and the material is quite hackneyed with poorly realised red herrings within its elaborate plotting and flimsy script. Sometimes laughable, but nonetheless I was entertained mainly due to its brutal and grisly acts of pulpy violence towards some rather obnoxiously annoying college students by a psychotic killer with a battle axe. The performances weren't bad in the shape of a spunky young cast, however the characters they were portraying weren't particularly enticing. An always presentable Rutger Hauer shows up in a short supportive role as a grizzled detective. A slickly made, but a shallow and forgettable addition to the fold.

I've seen a lot worse films than this. The cinematography, FX, and sound are just fine. Very good, even. It's the story that's hackneyed and predictable. As for the actors/actresses, they do an OK job with what they've been handed. This is definitely intended for the slasher crowd at the theater, as it really doesn't come across as well on the small screen.

Hauer's role is really no more than an extended cameo. The other actors are interchangeable. After a decent beginning, you'll get a lot of blood, some nudity, and some really anti-social behavior between friends/class-mates.

Again, much better than a lot of the independent junk that's out there. It doesn't hurt to watch it.

This film is an incredibly mixed bag of a horror movie. It is y scenes, but not enough of them to actual credit the movie with good writing. The opening is pretty stupid, and feels like something a 12 year old would think up as a scary opening.

A huge problem with this movie that goes against slasher formula, is that none of the women are good looking at all. Normally they are just cast to look nice on screen and less for their actual acting ability. However, the women in this movie are neither good looking, or able to act.

Rutger Hauer is in the movie for around 10 minutes worth, though he does not really move the plot forward at all. It felt more like he owed someone a favor and was written into the film to reach a larger viewing base. He does a decent enough job with having no good dialogue. He just intensely stares into the camera, which is scarier than any of the actual horror moments the film presents.

After the initial characterizations, when the killer finally shows up, the film really gets going. The special effects are not that good, but it still presents us with enough fun to make it memorable. I had a good time watching this movie and if you are a fan of slashers, this will definitely pass the time. Has a nice conclusion as well.

The Good- Fun slasher, decent enough gore, some funny moments, ending.

The Bad- ugly people, below average acting, bad opening scene.

--- Note: The original name of the movie is '7eventy 5ive'. If you look carefully, you will see that number in various places throughout the film.