Bad Kids of Crestview Academy

.... which, depending on your POV, may or may not be a compliment.

Here is the scoop -- there is a theory in the biz that if you deconstruct enough films in the same script, you may possibly trigger a paradox in the (Hollywood) time-space continuum, Star Trek style, and end up with a film which is actually a legitimate successor to the genre you were trying so hard to satirize.

Which is what I think happened here.

Ben Browder seems to have learned a LOT of valuable lessons from his first "Bad Kids" attempt -- just a rambly B movie which gained cult status because of some clever tropes -- and came back with a film which (I kid you not) has a remarkably tight script, good performances and good production values.

Which is not to say that the Coen Brothers are nervous, far from it. But the script is so interesting (with sly hints of Scream, Friday the 13th, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and even No Country For Old Men) that it actually engages and holds the attention.

And Sammi Hanratty gives what can best be called a bravura performance, biting into each line of dialogue and each piece of mayhem like she actually believes what she is saying ... like her career depends on it (which it probably DOES!) ... and essentially picks the film up and carries it to the finish line.

Gina Gershon does little more than offer a parody of herself, but her character ironically provides a "political angle" to the film which conveniently comes at a time when the world at large is starting to see politicians as potentially more dangerous than serial killers.

Recommended. And I predict there will be more in the series.

I really enjoyed the first movie "Bad Kids Go To Hell". Pretty good acting and a good plot and everything. But this one, "Bad Kids of Crestview Academy", just really disappointed me. A lot of the acting wasn't good. It seemed forced, over dramatic, and at times didn't make sense. But I think, at times, that had more to do with direction and the script than the actors themselves. The dialogue is the same. It was annoying and at times didn't make sense or unnecessary. I really about stopped watching a few times but I already invested the time and I just wanted to know how it ended, in case there is a third. But I literally suffered through the last half. The story line just sucked. I feel like there could have been more thought put into it and the dialogue or something.

I enjoyed the film, but didn't love it like I do the the first movie. While they managed to capture the essence of the original film - telling the story in bits and pieces, out of order, any with layers within layers - but whereas they reached a point where that formula again worked, the film then went way too over-the-top in an attempt to really out crazy its predecessor. It was also disappointing that, while the first movie had reasonably well-developed, multi-layered characters, with the exception of the main character Siouxsie, all the others were ridiculously shallow one-note caricatures in this one. If you really loved Bad Kids Go to Hell, you're more likely to get some enjoyment out of this one, but don't expect it to be as good.

Amazon was pushing 'Totally Killer' on me, and I couldn't make it through that one either. This one also appears to be targeted towards the 14-34 female, um, let's say "Velma" demographic, so I'm probably not the audience they're going for. I guess I was expecting more of a "Disturbing Behavior" type movie, but BKoCA is more like a spoof of a horror movie than it is a horror movie.

That being said, it's a horny/gory teen comedy that leans heavily on current-day tropes which won't make sense in the future, so if you hadn't heard of this movie before, then you probably won't hear about it again. It employs levels of acting and writing that you would see on The CW. The camera work and audio is well done.

This was made for a pretty specific group of people, so if you're in that group you'll probably love it, but otherwise you deserve a medal for making it through the first hour.

PS- I saw someone else mention that it has themes of "And Then There Were None", but implying that these writers read Agatha Christie is giving them way too much credit. I could see if maybe they watched a YouTube video summarizing the film adaptation.

This film works pretty well as a teen comedy slasher, the kills are kind of cool if mostly unoriginal, but definitely fun for someone who is new to the horror genre.

The film never drags and the story has legs, but it does suffer from a lacking in the effects department. At least it tries to continue aspects from the original and doesn't just go somewhere completely different, so if you are a fan of the first film you will probably like this.

Overall this is definitely a horror designed for teens and never really rises above a beginners level in terms of entertainment, dialogue or gore. It's not a bad time though.