Tormented

The best thing about Tormented is the opening and closing credits, which were original and interesting. The opening 10 minutes weren't bad, but from then on things go downhill and rarely pick up.

The main problem with this film was the poor storyline and script. Direction and acting were okay, and quite stylish at points, but the storyline itself wasn't sufficient to tread a path between horror and comedy.

The bullying is over-the-top and unbelievable, certainly for the age of people involved; characters were kept paper-thin; and the script riddled with clichés. You simply didn't believe what was happening, nor that, when events turn nasty, the protagonists greet them with such an indifferent attitude. Logic is out of the window - a school with 3 recent deaths, an unexplained accident, and a disappearance - yet no sign of the police, and the school still open ... hmmmmmmm.

The bottom line is, this is another film that seems incapable of representing British school students as they really are, and opts for cliché which doesn't go far enough for parody. The result leaves the viewer too detached to show much interest in the events, and there aren't enough laughs to retain interest on a purely comedic level (the only laugh coming from the discovery of the 'full condom', and we have to wait an hour for that).

Of interest to those who might like Skins, if only to see something much worse. A shame.

My review of Tormented I have just watched the teen thriller- Tormented and I really liked the low budget British horror. I thought the storyline was constant and easy to follow and the actors/ actresses did a good job of bringing a hint of humour to it as well as playing the horror scenes well. Also, it was very stereotypical of a teenage school; bullying, girls turning the uniform sexy, Goth's, one main alpha male of the school- Bradley (Alex Pettyfer) and the 'geeks' the ones that got bullied and ignored. Furthermore, I think the way in which Darren Mullet- (Calvin Dean) murdered 5 of the bullies was very gory yet imaginative. Everyway was different and once it happened, little things relate to it such as; the painting of Kalilah and the 'Head school girl' badge and the hole in Justine's school blazer. Finally, I like the way it was a non-linear structure and used the same shot of Justine being arrested at the start of the film and at the end. However, even though I enjoyed the film, it was a little predictable. You can definitely predict what will come next you just don't know how. Also, I think Darren Mullet played a good point in being spooky, but sometimes it was funny in places where is should be. For example, killing the girl in the swimming pool and Jason fell out of the cupboard in the art room. Finally, I think the acting of the teachers good of been better. When the head master found Justine over Alexis' dead body, he said "Justine" without hardly any shock in his voice, just humour. Finally, in my opinion, overall I thought it was a good movie and should surely be recognised more than it does. Alex Pettyfer did a good job at acting and got a huge Hollywood role after his performance. I would definitely recommend this to a teenage audience but not for the faint hearted. I also think that the message of non-bullying is strong all the way through the movie; what goes around comes around.

'TORMENTED': Three Stars (Out of Five)

This BBC Films production is another tormented high school student revenge tale. It's directed by Jon Wright, written by newcomer Stephen Prentice and filled with a cast of relatively unknowns (although they could be bigger stars in the UK). A young actress by the name of Tuppence Middleton is memorable and strikingly attractive in the lead and the rest of the cast is adequate and fittingly cast. The story is routine and has been done many times before but it is filled with witty British dialog (as well as sometimes confusing slang). The directing is impressive for this type of low budget genre film and the soundtrack is very effective. All in all it's a pretty well made comedic slasher film.

As the film opens a bullied fat asthma stricken outcast named Darren Mullet (played by Calvin Dean) has just committed suicide. Class favorite Justine (Middleton) speaks at his funeral although she doesn't remember who he was. She later learns that the boy had a crush on her. The popular clique that made fun of Darren now accepts Justine into their group, with some resentment from the girls, and one of the boys (played by Dimitri Leonidas) has a romantic interest in Justine. As Justine falls in love with her new found popularity, and starts to forget her old friends, her new friends start dieing one by one. It appears as though Darren has risen from the dead and is exacting his revenge.

The film is touching and sad at times but it is a little heavy handed as well. Although I felt sorry for Darren and the way he was treated I had trouble routing for him as he viciously killed his tormentors. The death scenes are creative and at times humorous though and as far as low budget slasher films go this one is pretty well put together. It's got that dry British humor that's a riot at times (in this film) and the characters are all at least somewhat interesting. If you're a fan of the genre this is one worth checking out.

Watch our review show, 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU_O9yN8W_E

Let's face it; growing up through the ever encumbering teenage years can be tough. What with the numerous social pressures from peers, the raging hormones, dead serial killer bully victims and the fact that your every move pretty much defines your life from then on—it's quite possibly the hardest time of your life. But hold on just a minute, what's this about homicidal, vengeful ghosts of overweight asthma kids taking out their angst on other high school clichés from the chavs to the goths and emos? Well, yeah, it happens—not a lot, but Tormented goes on the record to prove just how much more inconvenient this little chink in the chain of teenage life can be. Think you have a headache from exam stress? Try having pencils shoved through your nose into your cranium, or perhaps something more traditional like a screwdriver through the throat; now, that's tough.

Like all brilliantly devised horror stories however, we must start at the beginning—the humble innocence of a time when ghosts and bloody murder seemed neighbourhoods away in some dingy alleyway somewhere, or perhaps confined to DVD collections of your average ditsy teenage girl. Here our story begins at the funeral of Darren Mullet, a guy with such a terribly obvious-to-pick-on name and stature that if it wasn't for the fact that he was the one being buried, he probably wouldn't have been invited. The same goes for his bombastic wake party hosted by his school peers who only ever knew him by his nickname (Shrek) and use the outing as another social ritual of alcohol-fuelled bedroom disappointments. All is going pretty well for the hypocrites and social pundits of Wherever High, that is, until big buzz-kill Darren decides to crash everyone's party and start bringing the thunder through various, very elaborate and poignantly ironic means of murder (it's pretty obvious he was horror buff)—well, when he's not gasping for air and taking a puff of his inhaler. Good news is though, that you can still get a reception in the afterlife because Darren even finds the time to send some rude, antagonising messages to his victims before slaughtering them; classy.

Sound comical? Well, it is, but not entirely in a good way. You see, while Tormented is being touted as being a "comedy horror", you could just about tag that onto most horror movies without causing much of a ruckus. The fact of the matter is, Jon Wright's movie can be fun (as fun as a movie that essentially strives to take the subject of teenage suicide and depression and look at the… ahem, funny side can be), sure, but it's also a bit of a drag at times. On the one hand you have this ridiculous plot which never seems to take itself too seriously, which makes for some entertaining watching at the very least—but then on the other you have this very fine cast ensemble who lend the movie a sense of Skins-esquire realism that distinctly puts the otherwise campy and self-depreciating narrative on a bit of a backburner, despite the fact that most play broadly written caricatures. The resulting feature is fragmented and somewhat perplexing; not quite dissimilar from your average teenager then, I guess.

Tormented can be genuinely funny, a little spooky, and even somewhat moving in a couple of scenes, but too often it's the case that the viewer will be left laughing at the movie rather than with it (a primary example being one of the best ads for safe-sex I've seen in a while). Sure, it offers a horror experience that, because of its levity, doesn't numb the cortex, but neither does it really make that much of an impression. Instead, the entirety of the movie can be written off as being a mildly amusing, but mostly insignificant distraction. Horror buffs will probably enjoy all the farcical horror shenanigans a lot more than your average cinephile of course, because despite the fact that Tormented really isn't a great movie per se, it's at least got all the staples and defining traits of your average back row snog-fest to fill up the awkward silences with guffaws of "Oh my God, look at that guys chest bleed! Awesome!". However, if you do decide to—or if you have already taken it upon yourself to—see Tormented, take a moment with me now to reflect on the life of poor Darren Mullet that was taken when he hung himself instead of just, you know, not using his inhaler anymore.

Weak script and storyline, not much to keep you hooked, easy to follow. A few creeps and laughs. I have no idea what type of audience this is for...maybe for guys who have a kink for school uniforms because they were the most unconvincing bunch of school-kids ever, I hate modified uniforms made to look like they were from a porn movie or St Trinians. And as far as I know thigh high socks,fashion tights, mini skirts and huge earrings are banned from schools...pi-sh, plus the fact they are too old. And probably the first rule when making any sort of film is character sympathy...I didn't warm to any of the characters, apart from Justine(poor girl) so who cares if anything happens to them?