Pledge

Three nerds crash a college party but they soon get kicked out for not being cool. However a hot chick invites them to an alternative party, held at an exclusive house. The vodka flows, the girls are randy, the boys have a great time. They get invited back the next day for a "fun" 48 hour pledge but when the first part involves the boys getting (forcibly) branded we know that they are in for a very tough time. Plenty of torture porn on offer here, not as graphic as say Hostel or Saw but still very violent and nasty. But amongst the horror we are treated to some humour in the dialogue, nerd David with his thick specs could have come from any number of 1980's college movies. There are a couple of decent twists towards the end. I found Pledge to be well made and enjoyed it, not sure that I'd give it a second shot though.

Do I tuck my shirt in? I don't care, you look like you're gonna fix the computer anyway.

This straightforward movie "Pledge" managed to surprise me. At first, I didn't expect much from it. But as the story unfolded, I thought that the makers of this horror story had incorporated some strong elements into it. Those who have experienced the rush into a fraternity personally will be happy that they didn't have to endure a similar experience. It's extremely difficult to stand out with horror when you see the number of horrors being released these days. After the first 20 minutes, it looks like you are going to watch a remake of "Porky's". Or better still, "Revenge of the Nerds". You could say it was funny one way or another. But the fun part soon made way for the disturbing section. An atmosphere of panic, fear, and despair prevails until the end of the film.

Three close friends, who probably always sit on the sidelines when it comes to social events, do their utmost to be admitted by a fraternity. Hence the title of this film. The film starts with David (Zack Weiner, writer of this film), Ethan (Philip Andre Botello) and Justin (Zachery Byrd) who visit one clubhouse after the other. The three nerds, however, are rejected, ridiculed or simply denied access everywhere. Until they suddenly receive an invitation from a hot looking girl to attend a private party somewhere on a remote domain. An orgasmic experience with ditches of alcohol in the company of a horde of ravishing looking young ladies. Young ladies who they refer to as being "out of their league" most probably. Not surprisingly, all three (and a few other "freshmen") over-enthusiastically agree with Max's (Aaron Dalla Villa) invitation to join this exclusive student association. An elitist club with only a limited number of members.

Unfortunately, the hazing procedure is rather rough on our 3 friends. It's well known there are often oddities and extreme things involved during hazings here in Belgium. Binge drinking, beating with a cricket bat, sexually charged assignments and eating disgusting things. Other academies are taking it a bit easier. There, students have to work out a translation or explanation about a certain topic as an assignment. Boring! The club our three nerds want to join has another agenda. The assignments are painful, disgusting and especially deadly in nature. It's not really terrible "torture porn". So don't expect situations as in "Hostel" or "Saw". Could be I'm insensitive to that. When you're able to watch a movie such as "Martyrs" without feeling disturbed, the humiliations the newbies have to undergo are of Sesame Street level.

There's a lot of decent acting in "Pledge". The three silly friends portray those typical characters who are mostly the center of mockery and bullying in American schools. A chubby dude who's always asking for something to eat and cannot really be praised for his speed. The nerdy guy who most likely spends his days sitting behind a screen and always says the wrong things. And finally, a kind of a sissy who reacts girlishly to threatening situations and most certainly will jump on a chair when a mouse appears in front of him. Three types that are convincingly interpreted by Zachery Byrd, Zack Weiner, and Philip Andre Botello. But especially Aaron Dalla Villa made an impression. That demonic look and sadistic tone fit perfectly with the cruel Max.

Thanks to the short playing time, "Pledge" is suitable as an in-betweener during a weekday evening. Thanks to the pace of the film, it never gets boring. And although I found the horror level quite average, they managed to deliver an intense and exciting film. And despite the fact that it was a low-budget film ("Pledge" was funded through Kickstarter), I thought the cinematography was of high quality. The lurid and threatening atmosphere was not only delivered by the story but certainly also by the supplied footage. To be honest, "Pledge" is one of the better Low-Budget indie horror movies I've seen in the last year. Certainly a must-see for lovers of the genre.

More reviews here: movie-freak.be

Pathetic excuse for a horror flick,find something better to do.

So I saw The Pledge a few weeks ago at the theater. I really knew nothing about the film, but the previews made it look like an interesting horror/revenge film. Overall I liked the movie, but it suffering from unoriginality and an inconsistent tone.

The plot of the movie starts out simple enough. A stereotypical group of cliche nerds go around campus trying to pledge at different fraternities, but are rejected at every opportunity. Finally they seem to have struck gold as they are invited to pledge at a secret fraternity that promises sex, drugs, and popularity. Of course nothing is as it seems and the film evolves into a mix of black comedy, torture, gore, and revenge.

The movie overall did a good job with its pacing. It had a very well-made opening scene that set the tone for the rest of the film. The film was quite short, but kept the excitement up with ample amounts of psychological and physical abuse. The movie had a few interesting twists thrown in as well that felt quite natural for the flow of the film. Plus it had a satisfying and well done final arc that was a solid payoff.

The first half of the film acted as the set up is a bit of a slow burn introduction to what will come. The film makes it quite clear from the beginning that the secret fraternity has ulterior motives. At that point it was simply a waiting game for all hell to break loose. It wasn't exactly suspense driven, but it did build a bit of tension and anxiety waiting for the fraternity to snap.

For a low budget film the movie was directed well. I didn't really see any major problems except for a lack of originality and and overuse of cliches and tropes. It's a fun film, but don't expect them to reinvent the wheel here. On top of that I can't say I was impressed with all the actors. A few of the performances in particular were quite cringe-worthy.

The biggest flaw of the film seemed to be that it didn't quite know what it wanted to be. It had elements of dark humor, torture porn, gore, psychological abuse, and horror, but never really pushed anything far enough. The film could have added more gore and blood for shock value or cut out the bits of dark humor.

I also really had a hard time with the internal believability of the film. Perhaps they were trying to make a statement regarding just how powerful peer pressure could be, but I just could not understand a few of the characters decisions. It really takes away from a film when characters make stupid decisions purely as plot devices.

The Pledge was a fun, but unoriginal and predictable film that could have benefited from a bit of polish. It wasn't a bad movie, but it never really found the right tone. I enjoyed the build up of tension and some of the gore, but it never really pushed anything far enough. A 6 out of 10.

Good movie, not an especially good movie, but it is entertaining enough. Interesting theme, and the acting is fairly decent. I don't know if this is an independent movie, if it is, they done a fine job. If not, it's still a worth a look. Some gore, nothing too shocking for those who don't particularly like that stuff.

I'd say it's a solid 6, but those with a keener eye for the subtext, may have a different view to mine.