...crazy-insane femme fatales in the movies...ya' just
gotta love 'em. Yep...they be
oh-so batshit crazy, though often quite clever, intelligent, cunning and resourceful...their world, skewed in the matters of right and wrong...perhaps not even caring about such petty and trivial things. You know them quite well, as well as their infamous and horrifically reciprocative acts. Hey, how about that silver platter of rat tartar, dished out to the invalid? Eh, perhaps a little diversionary touchie-feelie in the tub, followed by a quick underwater flick of the blade, on those oh-so sensitive parts? Or maybe a tasty pot of bunny stew, as a gruesome and shocking reminder of a spurned one-night stand? And let's not forget about a certain deftly applied sledgehammer to the ankles, all because...well naturally, that's what one does, when one is another's 'number one fan'. Yes, we all know them, as well as their brand of vengeance...perhaps a bit
too well; after all, such unflinching scenes in films like "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane", "I Spit on Your Grave", "Fatal Attraction" and "Misery", amongst others, have
long since become the stuff of movie thriller legend...often emulated and parodied...quite literally to the point of being cliché, these days. So, when the 'new kid...or rather, new
psycho on the block' come along...such as the mentally twisted and diabolical, albeit beautiful protagonist of director Mark Jones' latest film, "Scorned"...and purports to pull the same tricks out of the hat, not unlike her famed 'femme fatale' predecessors...well, as much as 'beating a dead horse' could conceivably drag a relatively good thriller concept down, it most assuredly does, in
this case...
...Sadie's got her man right where she wants him...all tied up, drugged, bloody, helpless and nowhere to go. Why, you ask?? It seems that while she (Annalynne McCord, recently spotlighted in the disturbing 2012 psychological horror ditty, "Excision", and reviewed previous, on this site...by this viewer, no less) and her assumed-faithful betrothed, Kevin (Billy Zane), were engaging an impromptu romantic rendezvous, at a secluded little getaway, Sadie happened upon Kevin's text messages, while he was turned unawares...and how about that?? It quickly becomes aghastly apparent to Sadie, that ol' Kev's been doing double duty with her best friend, Jennifer (Viva Bianca). But that's OK, though; rather than immediately flying into a rage, Sadie responds to the texts, in Kevin's stead, coercing an unwary, albeit eager Jennifer over to the bungalow, for the quaint romantic triste, which she herself had originally thought to have anticipated engaging in. Upon Jennifer's arrival, Sadie cold-cocks her, ties her up, and sets her side-by-side, next to a bewildered and doped-up Kevin...and this is where Sadie's fun begins, as she forced her captive once-beau and her once-friend to play out the romantic evening...the wine & dine...the foreplay...the romance...yes, even the sex...right in front of her. And should they refuse to participate in the 'game'...well, Sadie's got a few tricks of her own, up her sleeve...something along the lines of excruciatingly painful torture...impromptu dental work...some inspired electroshock treatment (...recalling her own doctor-prescribed therapeutic sessions with 'the chamber')...and leave us not forget, some oh-so dee-licious homemade tacos, as well...
...for a filmmaker who has proven creatively prolific on such contrived and commercial material, feature-film wise...noting, of course, his 'Leprechaun' horror franchise, which has been well appreciated by genre fans, and hey, soon to bear new fruit, via his incredulously titled, upcoming "Vamprechaun", with Warwick Davis stepping back into the diabolically diminutive role...director Mark Jones seems to have gone the languid and easy route, with this routine, no-brainer psycho-erotic thriller, which seems to pull every cliche out of the book, and...graphic violence and sex aside...seems more akin to a network production, than a theater-worthy feature film. Structure and storywise, one might even suggest that "Scorned" plays very much like one of those once clever, though now considered quite generic and standard, assembly-line thrillers, which the USA Channel used to prolifically grind out (...see "Buried Alive", "Wheels of Terror", "Hitched", amongst others).
...granted, Annalynne McCord's adequately crazed, demented and wildly unbridled 'Sadie' character is most assuredly not one to be reckoned with, even in the most stable of mentality...which is minimally hinted at, here, considering her unveiled, front-lining, psychologically tortured and overly-medicated past, as well as the adverse situation itself, presented before us viewers, which pushes her over the edge; however, her 'method to her madness' is hardly surprising, or even shocking, when she gets her fur ruffled, as she quite literally takes her cues directly from the 'vengeful psychotic' playbook. Heck, at certain points in the film, she even outright calls forth direct reference to those 'cues' (...i.e., for instance, when she walks up with the hobbling block & sledgehammer, and says something about a certain favorite movie of hers...well, it's obvious, at this point, what's gonna happen)...
...one will definitely find it difficult to outright like any of the three characters, in this sinister scenario. Relate and/or identify with, perhaps, but hardly 'like' (...then again, naw...'real' people don't really behave this way, do they? Ah, come on, say it isn't so; then again, this viewer could be wrong, but most people don't eat the cream out of their Oreos first, either, right?). In Sadie's case, the question of the 'love/hate' relationship is obvious; after all, we can sympathize with her disturbing and degradative past. But to be the receiving end of her rage, when she is crossed?? Uh, pass on that, thank you very much!! Now Kevin, on the other hand...it's already established that he's a pretty despicable character, and as slyly portrayed by genre fav Billy Zane, it become a matter of the 'lesser of the two evils'. As we watch him play the 'unfaithful slime, who begs for mercy' card, we wonder...does the punishment inflicted upon him, fit the crime, or far exceed it. Might prove to be an interesting debate, either way. And then, of course, there's Jennifer (...Viva Bianca, of the 2012 cable series, "Spartacus"), who seems to get the worst of Sadie's wrath, as the result of a), being the 'other woman', and b), being Sadie's supposed best friend. Amusingly enough, there are a couple moments, in between the screams and the torture, where she just kind of rolls her eyes at her co-captive, Kevin, and lets out a stereotypical, tongue-clicking 'tsk', almost as if to say, "...Kevin, look what you've done!"...
...in the final analysis, those viewers new to the genre, might find "Scorned" adequately diversionary; however, for the rest of us...eh, despite a smidgen of dark-humored, brow-raising 'tongue-in-cheek', no real surprises, here. In fact, the more seasoned might do the untried a great justice, in suggesting the kind of renowned and masterful thrillers, which 'Scorned' tries ever so hard to aspire to...but ultimately falls flat, in doing...
No comments:
Post a Comment