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.

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 movie was one I ran across via an old video store going out of business. Michael St. Gerard plays a guy who gets upset because his favorite TV show has been taken off the air and he gets a little homicidal. John P. Ryan gives a stunning performance as a mysterious character on TV who is giving our main character some interesting direction. You won't see another movie quite like this one. I also wish I knew how to get a copy of the song at the end of the movie, also titled "Star Time". Overall, it is worth a look indeed if you can actually find it. I was lucky enough to. It is a tense film with a little satire, a little disturbing commentary and a little mystery- all accentuated by some good performances.

I expected STAR TIME to be yet another "expired" early nineties horror film. And the box cover and tagline suggests that too, unfortunately. BUT I WAS VERY WRONG! STAR TIME is a perfect example of what a lot of eighties slashers wanted to be. It's more of an adult slasher, as it really wouldn't appeal to a teenage audience. This film, most of all, is very atmospheric. I agree. A lot of it is boring. But the whole idea behind it is ingenious. ***out of****STAR TIME is a pretty good horror film that I think horror fans, even casual ones, should see.