Dark Intentions

I was really surprised when I watched this movie and liked it! I've watched it a few times now and each time I love it even more.

Usually I don't watch Lifetime or any other television movies, but this one I was interested in, probably because I LOVE ghost stories and anything creepy.

The story was written well and I didn't expect the 'twist' at the end (maybe I wouldn't call it a twist, but a surprise, for sure!) If you are bored one night, watch this movie! I was actually a little creeped out the first time I watched it. The CGI is cheaply done (I never like special effects in horror movies and wasn't expecting anything great for a TV movie) but it isn't cheesy. Plus, this movie is better than some I've paid $10 to see at the movie theater.

I gave this film a 10 to balance out the people who left such horrid reviews, though I'd probably rate it an 8. I really enjoyed this film, and you will too if you don't expect to see "Insidious" or "Scream" or "A Nightmare on Elm Street." It's NOT a scary movie in that sense. Yes, it's a creepy and suspenseful film, but I wouldn't classify it as horror. Take the time to watch this, but don't expect to see any award winning original material.

Wow I think 4 is way harsh for this film. Yes, it is a made for TV film so it is going to have certain flaws that a big budgeted movie wouldn't have, but I have to say that this film really surprised me. I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The storyline was original; I have never seen a story like this in another film and in my opinion, the plot deserves a 9 out of 10. However, I need to deduct a point for some of the actors, deduct a point for production, half a point for pace and half a point for the quickie climax at the end. So my overall mark is seven, but if they had changed the ending slightly, made the duration of the film more intense, had more money to cast better actors and incorporate better effects, then this would have been a nine, maybe ten.

THE HAUNTING OF SORORITY ROW/DEADLY PLEDGE (TV Movie 2007)

BASIC PLOT: Samantha Willows (Leighton Meester) is having a blast her freshman year at college. She's pledging the hottest sorority on campus, and has made lots of new friends. Her new roommate, Jane Horten (Kailin See), is a bit odd, but she's still nice to have around. The only problem? Jane never sleeps. She's always awake, and she never seems to eat either. There's something unusual about Jane, but Samantha chalks it up to freshman jitters, and tries to keep up with pledge week.

Samantha is also having problems with her high school boyfriend, Oliver (Adrian Petriw). He's always been a great guy, but lately, he's been a bit smothering. After Oliver makes a scene at a sorority party, Samantha decides to let him down gently. She wants to see other people, and Spencer (Carlo Marks) fits the bill.

After leaving a heartbroken Oliver, Samantha is approached by Collin, the boyfriend of a sorority sister who disappeared last semester. He tells her a strange story about his girlfriend Jenna Thorne (Lara Gilchrist). She disappeared during pledge week last year, a week after they got engaged. He knows she'd never run out on him, or college, and he tells Samantha to be on the lookout for her engagement ring.

Things get weirder and weirder for Sam, she knows the older sorority sisters are hiding something about Jenna Thorne. One by one, they either disappear or die, and the question becomes, does someone know what they did last summer? And is that someone human?

WHAT WORKS: *This movie uses actual music, AND gives credit to it at the end. It makes the all difference, and enhances the storytelling. In the scene where Samantha breaks up with Oliver, the haunting song, "Goodnight, Moonshine," by Dusty Rhodes & The River Band, sets the mood.

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: *Why does Sam make fun of Spencer (Carlo Marks), when he tells her he likes theater, more than regular frat guy behavior? She's not a bobble head, so why? The whole scene doesn't work, it should give them something in common, but instead, it makes Sam look cruel.

TO RECOMMEND, OR NOT TO RECOMMEND, THAT IS THE QUESTION: *I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys light paranormal frights. It's not scary, but it is entertaining. Remember, this is a made-for-tv movie, not a big budget picture.

CLOSING NOTES: *This is a Made-For-TV movie, please keep that in mind before you watch\rate it. TV movies have a much lower budget, and so your expectations should be adjusted.

*I have no connection to the film, or production in ANY way. I am just an honest viewer, who wishes for more straight forward reviews. Hope I helped you out.

This is another of those teen-age sorority flicks where the girls are so stupid you wonder how they ever got to college in the first place. It starts out looking as though it might be a good thriller, but the events involving the revenge of a dead spirit are so mindlessly foolish that you wonder how the script managed to find someone willing to produce it.

The acting is better than the story deserves but that's no compensation for a Halloween type of thriller that lacks common sense in the telling. Production is well mounted with slick camera work and an appropriately tingling background score, but the story seems padded to fit a two-hour TV schedule and it becomes a by-the-numbers sort of thing where you just have to wait patiently for something to happen. They do happen on cue and that's the whole trouble with the silly story. Nothing seems real and none of the explanations ring true.

My advice: skip it.

Samantha Willows (Leighton Meester) is a college freshman pledging a prestigious sorority. However something supernatural is killing its members. There was a mysterious girl missing from the previous year's pledges. Meanwhile, Sam's high school boyfriend has come along to college but is jealous of her new life.

This is a low budget weak production horror. The supernatural is revealed right off the bat. The big mystery is revealed before it even asks the questions. The CG is poorly done. The only good thing here is Leighton Meester. She takes this weak material and makes a little something. However, the production is so low that there isn't even enough members in this sorority. It's just weak overall.