Frayed

If you're looking for a movie that's not Halloween But feels like Halloween I would suggest checking out Frayed 🚨WARNING🚨 This borrows a lot from the original Halloween Especially the opening scene I'm surprised they didn't name the killer Michael or Miguel But I suppose that might be too obvious even for this movie The story jumps around a bit too much and there are plenty of plot holes I do like the twist on the ending I must admit it wasn't what I expected But I think it would have been better if the writers did a better job with the script But if you enjoy a low budget knockoff I would highly recommend watching this.

FRAYED is a psychological horror film with an introductory "home movie" segment that can only be described as gruesomely extreme.

This is the story of Kurt Baker, a seriously disturbed young man, and his entry into adulthood. We're taken on a whirlwind adventure filled with insanity and murder, ultimately learning the shocking truth behind Kurt's condition.

Or do we?

The ending is as surprising as it is genuinely disturbing. A unique take on a well-worn sub-genre...

I watched the movie over the weekend with a group of my daughters' friends (about a dozen kids all in high school). It was great to watch a horror movie that I enjoyed and they did too.

The film really is a thinking person's horror movie, and I really appreciated the fact that they didn't dumb it down or insult the intelligence of the audience at any point in the film. There are very few movies where I really respect how the filmmakers treat the audience, and this is one of them where I do. Frayed pays homage to some of the earlier slasher movies, but never appears to be copying them. There are some of the standard scary movie ingredients, but the plot goes way beyond what you expect from a horror movie. The filmmakers were able to take a favorite genre of their own, and make something really creative.

The other thing that really impressed me was the production quality of the film especially when considering the budget constraints of making it. In particular, the special effects were amazingly well done. The thing that most impressed me about the digital effects was the fact that I didn't know most of them were digital effects. After the movie I watched the very brief overview of the special effects and was surprised by some of the things that were done on the computer rather than on the set. This was very well done and I believe the special effects guys deserve huge kudos (and an award for one specific scene) for their accomplishment.

The best endorsement I can give the movie is that I want to watch it again. I know I missed clues and I want to see the movie at least one more time to see what I catch that went over my head the first time. In addition, everyone knows how impatient high school aged kids are, and they not only enjoyed watching the movie, but they watched it again that evening because they all really wanted to see it over again that night.

As for the very violent scene that occurs early in the movie, yes it is uncomfortable to watch. I believe the team earned an award for that one, but they probably won't get one since it is in a small independent movie. The scene is very difficult to watch or even think back to, which is why I recommend watching the bonus feature on that section of the movie. Watching the character/victim in the make up for the final stage jokingly saying "I'm ready for my close up" helped ease the discomfort that the filmmakers were trying (successfully) to make everyone feel.

I recommend watching it with a few friends so you can bat around ideas after the movie. That really helps everyone figure out what actually happens. Frayed goes way beyond a standard slasher movie genre with a tight complex plot, great cinematography, good acting, and remarkable visual effects to deliver a great horror movie.

If the same team makes another movie (which I hope they do), I can't wait to see it.

This is the first time that I have seen fit to leave a comment.

I was completely unaware of this movie's existence, and usually I'm pretty good at knowing what is coming out. Out of boredom, I watched it On Demand and was stunned. It's definitely not your average slasher film - instead, it is a psychological thriller that leaves you picking your brain for hours.

I truly recommend this for anyone looking for something raising the slasher-fic bar. I was only looking for the general entertainment and was more than pleasantly surprised.

Please, take my word for it. You'll be intrigued...

I saw this at the Screamfest in Hollywood on October 18 2007. Finding out after viewing this movie that it was made on a shoestring budget with newcomer actors in Seattle, Washington, I have to give makers of this film some props. The setups are top notch, the lighting and visuals are on par with much of what Hollywood even puts out for horror. Some of the actors in the film showed quality also. There is a pitch perfect scene involving a character in the back of a pick-up truck. Everyone involved seemed to be into making a good movie.

All that being said, there were a lot of problems with the film. The makers said that the film didn't have a distributor yet, and I think when they do get one (and I'm sure that will be real soon) the distributor will have them trim some of the fat. and there is a good bit of fat to be trimmed. There was some unnecessary scenes of people talking to each other on cell phones, relating things we already knew.

They say they pay homage to 'Halloween'(the original); that's great and all, but there is a difference between homage and heavily borrowing...They didn't list 'Haute Tension', 'Identity', 'Silence of the Lambs' either and there was definitely some lending from those films as well.

If there was a grade for suspense alone this film would get a 9 in my book. If you come looking for a bloody/gory movie, this is not your flick. If you loved the first Halloween you will very likely dig this movie.

When I think of all the crap horror films that go straight to DVD, if I stumbled upon this flick I think I would be pleasantly surprised.