Bad Kids of Crestview Academy (2017) Reviews

• About 100X better than the first entry in the series...

  A_Different_Drummer2017-01-18

  .... 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.

  More

• Surprisingly Good

  joeywyss2017-11-18

  I kept waiting for this to turn into a groan-er, but ended up very surprised. There's some very dark twisted humor woven throughout, and a good choice of newbie casting gives it a solid base to build on. After all the garbage horror I'm finding on Amazon Prime, this was a delight. I had an expectation of some degree of quality when I saw Gershon, Astin and Browder (who also directed!), and was waiting to be let down by the 'teens' but they held their own which saves the movie. Funny without being silly or campy, gory but not ridiculously so, and a solid script that stayed on point. The blending of the graphic novel scenes was a cherry on top to be sure. I usually prefer my horror to lean more supernatural , but this was a solid choice, and THANK HEAVENS none of that found footage garbage.

  More

• Jesus loves cheerleaders

  nogodnomasters2017-08-11

  Based on a graphic novel and uses bits of it for effect. Souxsie (Sammi Hanratty) is investigating the death of her sister, ruled a suicide. She believes it was murder. She manages to get herself in rich kid detention on Saturday so she can find out what happened...a party that she was at. The film opens with a SWAT team chasing her down and she has a welder flame thrower. It then goes back a day to take us up to that point. The ending, I didn't see coming...you won't either, unless you read the book. This is a quirky clever cult film that was filled with smiles, but not hard laughter. The twists are more clever than funny. The movie has some good characters that I wish we could have gotten to know better, a group that makes the "Breakfast Club" look like the weenies they really were. Guide: F-word. Brief sex. Brief nudity

  More

• Pretty funny teen horror spoof!

  sergeivolkov2017-01-15

  Anyone who takes themselves seriously or the teen horror genre seriously will not like a comedy spoof on the genre. The movie at it's opening credits clearly sets itself up as a bloody comedy spoof on the teen horror movie theme. It throws in some modern tech jokes while keeping the familiar traditional killing formula. The cast looked the part and did a good job of acting...remembering it is a horror spoof they played their parts well. I did laugh in many places and enjoyed the off beat comedy choices. At the very end...i usually do not care who directed a movie but since this spoof was really well done i decided to go back and see who the directer was...Ben Browder ...LOL now i understand why the movie was so creative, not boring and had enough entertaining twists. Worth watching...just for fun!

  More

• A thoroughly impressive effort

  jtindahouse2017-05-31

  There's nothing better than going into a movie with very low expectations, only to be blown away by how much you enjoy it. That was very much the case for me with 'Bad Kids of Crestview Academy'. It's so rare today that I enjoy anything horror related, let alone the low-budget, barely heard of films that are a sequel to an original that I have never heard of either. The film's biggest strength is that it is just straight up fun. It finds an almost perfect balance between being light-hearted and comical and yet at the same time taking itself just seriously enough so that the convoluted story never becomes tedious or boring. Say what you will, but that is a very hard balance to find that some very good film makers have failed to achieve over the years. The synopsis and opening scene (a scene that is a flash-forward to near the end of the film) imply that this will be a very simple film in approach. This really couldn't be further from the case. There are a couple of times when you think to yourself "OK, that was the film's big twist", only to find out (more than once) that that is only the beginning of things. I was really impressed by this film. It's easy for these types of films just to be lazy and do the bare minimum to keep their audience happy. 'Bad Kids of Crestview Academy' never takes the easy road though and the result is an audience that is going to thoroughly enjoy themselves. A great effort by all involved.

  More