Forget Me Not

Showing in local theaters only now, this 2009 film has been re-titled as "Revenge of the College Ghost." From that cheesy awkward title and the awful poster of zombie-like ghosts, you knew instantly this was definitely going to be a B-horror flick. And surely enough, you get exactly what you imagined.

Let's pick on the new title. First, there is "Revenge". A mistreated girl Angela seeks revenge on the kids who were cruel to her. Of course, these kids die one by one in all sorts of violent gory ways. Then there is "College." This is a teen horror flick. But the kids here were high school graduates, just about to go to college. And then there's "Ghost." Angela's ghost was awakened during a juvenile spirit-summoning game the teens played in a cemetery, and she wastes no time to exact her revenge.

The only aspect I liked in the story is how after each character was killed, he or she was somehow erased from everyone else's memory (except for the lead character Sandy, who used to be Angela's best friend). This of course made poor Sandy look like a raving lunatic to the people around her. Aside from that though, everything else was run of the mill teen horror, from the sexy girls to the gory deaths. The actors were all unknown, generic and acted in a campy manner. The ghosts were portrayed in the style of Sadako in "The Ring" with jerky movements, only here they acted like they were in the "Thriller" video. Maybe good for a temporary shallow thrill. Do not expect too much.

Yes the movie is heavily clichéd and the acting in some areas is more than weak as well as a less than impressive start but I can see an effort to be unique is on display here. The movie starts off like most generic slasher films with a cast of beautiful unknowns who just recently graduated from high school and throws a huge party, get drunk, have sex and after everyone leaves a handful of close friends decides to drive to a cemetery and play a silly game that's like ghosts in the graveyard. A mysterious girl then appears and wants to play with them and they let her, then things turn for the worst. To me from there on the movie gets way better with effective kills and a way more effective dragging a victim to their grave underground than in Drag Me To Hell, terror and suspense also come and maybe a too complicated plot and story for its own good but I give it kudos for trying to be ambitious. The acting too for some reason gets slightly better and far less annoying than it was in the beginning with Carly Schroeder from the indie film Mean Creek stealing the show. The film never gets truly terrifying and the zombie like ghosts though at some points creepy and scary were mostly not effective enough and seems too similar to the killer ghosts in Asian ghosts flicks of the past and they could of done better in that department but for a limited budget they weren't half bad either. The twisted shocker of an ending which they all had it coming was very effective to me and kept me from giving it a lower rating but I just wish it had a better first half and setup like it did in the middle and last half and because of that it was uneven and it also could of gone further with its interesting premise. Overall it's like Prom Night meets I Know What You Did Last Summer meets Tormented and at that was an entertaining watch if you have nothing better to do or watch. Rent it! 6 out of 10

FORGET ME NOT is the story of eight high school friends who share a terrible secret. Sandy (Carly Schroeder) seems to be the only one who is aware that her friends are disappearing one by one in grisly "accidents".

Viewers know that something supernatural is afoot, especially since each new victim is stalked and killed by a growing number of hellish ghouls. Adding to the mystery is the fact that the survivors have no memory of the ones who have just died.

Appearances are deceiving as the secret finally comes out, revealing the motivation behind the macabre action.

An effective horror movie with a novel plot...

There's something endearing about this film that I, to this point, haven't been quite able to put my finger on how to explain, but I shall endeavour to find an answer during the course of writing this review.

Forget Me Not is a bit of an odd and jumbled offering, with the story not making a great deal of sense to me, mixed with some passionate acting and engaging script, along with some pretty cool visuals. It starts out like countless teen horrors before it and I really thought it was going to be another disappointing one, but I don't know how they managed to keep me interested - but they did - and I was impressed with the kill scenes and the rather spooky ghost/zombies, with their effectively unsettling facial features and wild bodily movements.

The scenes are shot in familiar, everyday kinds of settings and it all looks very simple and perhaps even unexciting, but I actually think through its reachable characters and locations, it successfully finds its audience and engages on an intimate level, which I have to say, was a complete shock to me, that this movie could be able to achieve such.

So, I guess the answer to why it was able to keep me interested, is its earnestness, thoughtfulness and its creativity through simplicity. With decent acting to carry us along willingly, coupled with an efficient script, Forget Me Not is not as forgettable as one may suppose.

The movie was pretty good for it's genre and for me especially had some new ideas, not overused in other ghost story films.

There's not much gore or violence, but it keeps the suspense throughout the whole time.

I give it a 6/10 because there were certain things that I didn't like:

1. The first 15 minutes were a waste of time - I didn't find any of the characters likable (except maybe the brother) - and for me this whole drinking/f***ing added nothing to the story 2. Some of the dialogue was pretty out of place and felt like forced onto the characters, just to fill in running time

That being said - give it a try. It's fresh and if you're not looking for something worth an Oscar - you will like it.

Also, the ending is satisfying, not like in most horror movies these days.