Review by CJ

Director:
John Simpson

Starring:
Katheryn Winnick, Laura Breckenridge, Jessica Lucas, Keir O’Donnell

Other notable appearances:
Reid Scott, Tad Hilgenbrink, Rena Owen

Running time:
85 minutes

Watch this if you liked:
When a Stranger Calls, The Funhouse Massacre, House of Wax

Three girls are brought together in a fight for their lives by a disturbed man with whom they went to elementary school.

Amusement is an interesting horror film because it doesn’t quite seem like it should fit together, yet somehow just manages to work. A lot of the film’s time is spent on set up, but the three girls are introduced in ways that make them almost like short films with their finale the fourth short film in a series. Then they are all put together with the odd flashback. It’s haphazard, but manages to be interesting anyway.

The characters are stock standard horror characters with only the main character being given just enough depth to have you rooting for them. The actors involved do a good job of portraying them.

Now, let’s face it. Horror characters are not well known for being smart. But there are so many things that the characters in Amusement do that is painfully daft. I can’t go into specifics without including spoilers, but suffice to say that you’ll know them if you see them.

The effects in Amusement are very good. While there isn’t a lot of gore, what is featured is effective.

Overall, Amusement is a bit ramshackle but still an entertaining film that slasher movie and horror fans should check out.

Rating:

“He just wants to play.”