Star Time

There's nothing wrong with a depressing horror film. A lot of really good ones are, but when you're as unappealing and downbeat as Star Time is, it becomes a real chore to get through.

The surprising part is that this movie doesn't look like some long lost, crummy straight to video production. It looks fairly glossy with some striking shots and good production design. The acting isn't awful either, but there's nothing very gripping about it and the film never allows us to develop any major feelings for its characters.

You have a wannabe star who is convinced by an agent to start killing people to make himself famous, which sounds like an interesting enough concept, but it's hard to care what happens when the lead character is neither intimidating enough to scare us or pathetic and well developed enough for us to be on his side.

"Star Time" has an interesting concept, going inside the mind of a depressed young man who's delusions result in serial killings. Unfortunately the small budget does not allow the idea to be fully developed. This is really just a three character play, stretched into 84 minutes running time. John P. Ryan as "Sam Bones", the devil inside the mind of the "Baby Face Killer" is excellent. He is always an intimidating presence, and here Ryan does his thing, pushing the right buttons to turn an already disturbed man into a hatchet wielding killer. There is very little blood, some nudity, and even a taste of "black comedy". More a psychological drama than a slasher, fans of John P. Ryan should see this. - MERK

I recently watched Star Time on video at about 3:00 in the morning. I had never heard of it, and I had no idea what to expect. The movie held my attention and I really got into the (somewhat predictable) story. It moves slow, but I couldn't bring myself to turn it off. I thought the acting was good and the lighting was interesting. The script was a little obvious, and stupid at times. But, over all, I found it watchable.

Some no-name actor stars in Star Time as a twentysomething guy who becomes suicidal after his favorite television show gets canceled. Yes, you read that right. So then John P. Ryan takes advantage of our vulnerable main character pretending to work for TV and having him kill people. The rest is long, boring, and surprisingly unappealing. Star Time has no rating (unless Unrated counts), but the box rates it EM, meaning Extremely Mature. (But what they don't realize is that mature audiences can't take this junk seriously)

Waste of time and money (thankfully little of both though). One-and-a-half Stars out of Four.

This film was better then I expected. The story was a little predictable, but the acting held it together. I thought Michael St.Gerard was haunting in this role, and the cast was overall pretty good. I did find the film a little too bloody, even though there isn't much violence in it. The camera work is unusual and the soundtrack adds to the effect. The locations are very cold and isolated which takes you into the mind of the lead character. J.P. Ryan plays devil-like character, who lives in Henry's imagination. If you like strange, artsy films, this film might appeal to you.