Fin de Session

This is not one of those movies that I'd refer to as,, fun. I saw it first awhile back after it came out, so this is my 2nd viewing,, and my thoughts on it have still stayed the same. This is a great suspense/thriller for the content it contains. A group of High school misfits/outcasts set up a party and invite the popular kids to come. The popular kids who've spent the last few years torturing them (emotionally/psychologically/physically) daily at school. Why would the misifts do this? Well,, they're not planning on showing the cool kids a great time,, more like a night of horrors they'll never forget.

This movie should really ring true for everyone in some way. No matter whether you were the bully or the bullied,, we all have seen bullying and it's effects on people. Growing up I was bullied plenty, and it had a profound effect on me and my sense of self-worth. While I have grown up, and have a very healthy sense of self-worth now,, it took a VERY long time to get there. As I would hope everyone does, I look at things very different now. I don't wish anything against the bullies from my past,, but the scars are always there. I went to a restaurant with my family a couple of years ago,, and one of my bullies was there. I hadn't seen or thought about this guy in more than a decade or so,, but just being in the same room made everything come back. I was on the verge of a panic attack. He didn't acknowledge me, nor I him,, but I felt like that tormented kid again.

This movie (imo) does a good job of showing what can happen if people are pushed far enough. Especially considering the Godless/nihilistic views that are so prevalent in this day and age. I see how kids treat each other now, and it makes my generation almost look saintly (well, not quite,, but much nicer). We are living in the last days, that's for certain,, and it's gonna get worse before it gets better. Anyways,, I've said enough.

It's a bit of shame. This movie seemed to have some real potential, due to its concept but it still manages to go wrong, pretty early on in the movie already. It's still a movie with lots of great ideas and some good moments but the movie doesn't really known how it wants to make you feel and the movie therefore feels confusing and messy.

Let's face it; the premise of having a bunch of bullies get taken revenge on by their 'victims' sounds like an awesome idea, you can do so much good and interesting with. Lots of stuff that you can cheer for, since everybody till some extend can definitely identify with the bullied persons in this movie. And while the movie does this at points it also really crosses the lines of morality. Seriously, how is what these kids are doing in their movie any less worse than those kids who did those school shootings because they always got bullied, or for whatever other reason? The movie doesn't really seem to know how it wants to make you feel. The one moment you are really sympathizing for the bullied persons, who are taking revenge but at others you are disgusted and shocked by the way they are taking their revenge.

But it definitely is a movie that is still being mostly entertaining. It isn't being too heavy on its subject and it just doesn't try to handle it too seriously. This is what still makes "The Final" a very watchable movie. Even when the movie really starts to cross the border you won't get too disturbed by it, due to the entire way the movie got shot and set up.

The entire premise of this movie might sound gory but the horror fans will still most likely miss some real good gore and disturbing shocking moments in this. It definitely is no "Saw" or "Hostel", though the movie might sound like that. I don't even remember really any blood in this. It's not because they didn't wanted to have any probably but more because they simply couldn't. It's not a very high budget movie, which is OK, since the movie does very well with the resources it did have.

It's a good enough movie, that just doesn't live up to its premise and potential well enough.

6/10

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Not a great film, but not as horrible the run of the mill torture fests that have been pumped out as of late. The torture scenes are, for the most part, very badly acted out (with the notable exception of Emily's character) with very little blood (there's more blood in an Indiana Jones fight scene), but also very poetic as each bully and princess is confronted with their own crime and "punished" accordingly.

Granted this film probably wont do for school bullies what Fatal Attraction did for adulterers, but its definitely a step in that direction. Don't believe me? Take a look at the message boards for this film and look at all the posts coming from people scared that people are going to take this film literally.

As you watch this film, please remember that society and its shared ethics are based on a willingness to co-exist. When all is said and done, what have you done to make people want to co-exist with you? When people are no longer willing, will someone be coming for you?

Yes, I'll go ahead and say that first and foremost, this movie is not for everyone. If you can't stand torture, you will simply not like The Final. For those who do, this movie is a rare gem that didn't rely on the gore factor, but earns its praise through terrific acting. I was really looking forward to this movie as a part of Horrorfest, but expected the acting to bring its quality down a peg. I was dead wrong, other than some stuck-up cheerleader types who were played a little over the top for my taste, the actors playing both hunter and hunted did a tremendous job. There are a few moments where you'll say "why doesn't so and so do this to escape" or "what's going on behind the scenes here". Some minor characters had flaws as well, but were given little to work with in their respective roles. I don't really believe there are more than a handful of 10/10 movies out there, and this one just doesn't make that cut. I give it a 7 because I would've liked to see more development, and there were truly things I would've changed in the script. Overall though, a great job building tension and suspense.

I love a good revenge fantasy wherein the viewer can put themselves in the shoes of the downtrodden as they dish out justice to deserving jerks, but it's unlikely that many people will experience such satisfaction with this particular film, the high-school outcasts who plan to get even with their tormentors going way too far in their quest for retribution. Not only does the film fail as a satisfying revenge flick, but it is also barely passes as a torture-porn style horror, with not nearly enough eye-watering graphic gore to satisfy the genre's bloodthirsty fans.

Where the film works best is as a cautionary tale, showing exactly what can happen if one allows a desire for revenge to become all-consuming; the film makes it abundantly clear that such a path can only lead to suffering for ALL involved. Sadly, although the film might possibly work as a deterrent for potential vengeful nerds, I doubt that bullies will get the message that picking on the weak is wrong: most of them are far too stupid to grasp that concept.