Save Yourself

The acting is what made this movie dull and boring. The amount of dumb moves the girls made, so many slow moments. Honestly there was only one good part of the movie.

I like dumb horror movies but this was just too dumb for my likings.

SAVE YOURSELF, which I had the pleasure of watching during its screening at the Blood in the Snow Film Festival, is directed by Ryan M. Andrews' (Sick: Survive the Night) and follows a group of five female actresses making their journey to Los Angeles to attend the screening of their horror film. Unfortunately, the horror comes to life when they cross paths with a maniacal scientist who is in the mood to experiment. As the director, Crystal Lacroix, played by the ever alluring Tristan Risk (American Mary) who calls the shots drives, the other four actresses; Kim played by Jessica Cameron (Truth or Dare), Sasha, played by Tianna Nori (The Demolisher), Lizzie, played by Caleigh Le Grand (Late Night Double Feature) and Dawn, played Lara Mrkoci (Paranormal Witness) sleep.

After driving for a long while, Crystal pulls into a rest stop to take a break and have a smoke; however, it may have been her last. At the break of dawn, the four ladies wake up with no sign of Crystal. Emotions begin to run high as the ladies find themselves in a secluded and seemingly abandoned rest stop with no cell service and not a human in sight. Their years of acting in horror films came in handy as they decide to stick together and start to look for Crystal. As they explore the area, they come across a suburban estate with a farm occupied by Chris, played by Ry Barrett (The Demolisher) and Chris' wife, Astrid, played by Elma Begovic (Bite). At first, they are relieved, believing they found someone who can help them, provide access to a phone and the police, however, they all realize they are in far more trouble.

I am certain that many of you are jumping to conclusions on what could possibly go wrong when 5 females encounter a scientist in a secluded area. Let me tell you, a lot goes wrong but Andrews presents it in the most right way possible. Andrews takes a relatively simple story and elevates it to a level that many viewers did not suspect, throwing in a twist and a few turns. The viewer is given a chance to get to know, or at least get an idea of the dynamics between the 5 women. As a viewer, you are introduced to the characters and their idiosyncrasies very early on. As a result, the viewer is invested in determining the possible fates or downfalls of each character. Andrews' script combined with such a talented ensemble cast allows the viewer to take a lot in, in a short period of time yet, continue to keep the viewer guessing or attempting to put the puzzle pieces together.

The shining star in this day-time nightmare flick is Tristan Risk. We have seen Risk portray many interesting characters, mostly strong characters and Save Yourself is no exception. Although Risks' character starts off vulnerable, and insecure about her age, Risk shows that there is far more to her character than meets the eye and gives a multi-layered performance.

If you are in the mood for a fun horror flick, with a twist, and an ensemble cast go see SAVE YOURSELF.

It's a fair premise. I think the technical craft is suitable, including blood effects. The cast is fine, and the music is swell. Costume design, hair, makeup, and all the little details that movies are made of are adequate.

So what?

The movie is well made. If this is the kind of horror flick you enjoy, then dig in, I suppose. But aside from a couple good ideas in the screenplay, what I see is a feature that's wholly unremarkable, and not meaningfully distinguishable from countless others. For that matter, as I began watching I had hoped for some morbid fun, but instead 'Save yourself' is full of cruelty for its own sake. It's not enjoyable - just tortuous, in every sense.

And of course, as is often the case in such films, there are no few story beats that wouldn't come to pass if the characters were written with realistic intelligence. But then we we wouldn't have a movie, would we? A couple especially noteworthy performances (Tristan Risk, Elma Begovic), and a few moments done especially well, save this sliding even further into the depths of tedium - almost entirely undone all the same by the last seconds, which don't make narrative sense.

Oh well. A viewer who specifically likes horror movies of mindless brutality will feel right at home here, but for anyone who doesn't, this is at best perfectly average. 'Save yourself' could be worse, sure - but not by much.

Two disappointed thumbs down.

I can't believe I wasted 91 minutes of my life on this. The production was low quality and the acting/dialog was laughable. Low quality production can be overcome with a solid script, intriguing plot, believable acting and characters you can empathize and sympathize with. Unfortunately, this movie had none of the aforementioned. The only positive this move had going for it is the attractive female cast.

-1 Star for being too short.

+1 Star for early bathroom scene.

And then it went crappy crappy and really was horrible. 2/10.