Amuse me, please!!! (Amusement (DVD))

Member Name: Gladiator007

Product:	Amusement (DVD)
Date:	03/09/09 (212 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Superb acting by Katheryn Winnick , some interesting twists.

Disadvantages: too many plot holes, very disturbing violence and torture scenes.

==BACKGROUND INFORMATION==


USA made horror movie "Amusement" was released in the United Kingdom on 23rd of March, 2009. This movie was directed by talented Director and script-writer John Simpson. Mr. Simpson rose to fame and gained popularity for his 2004 psychological thriller movie Freeze frame. Famous British comedian and Writer Lee Evans played the title role in this movie.


His second feature film Amusement revolves around a mentally disturbed man, who suffers from serious childhood mental trauma. He tries to take revenge and hunts his childhood friends. This movie has an interesting plot and some surprising twists.


==MAIN CHARACTERS==


* Katheryn Winnick plays the role of Tabitha (One of the three childhood best-friends, she comes to her Aunt's house to visit her.)
* Laura Breckenridge plays the role of Shelby (Friend of Tabitha and Lisa, she is coming back to home with her boyfriend after having a boring weekend)
* Jessica Lucas plays the role of Lisa (She stays with her roommate Cat in a flat)
* Keir O'Donnell plays the role of The Laugh (A mentally unstable young man, he chases these girls and causes severe problems in their lives.)

==PLOT OUTLINE==


This movie is divided into four parts. First three parts describe how these three childhood best friends (Tabitha, Shelby and Lisa) being chased by a mysterious man and how he causes serious trouble to them.


This movie opens with Shelby and her boyfriend; they are driving back to home after a bad weekend outside. Suddenly they meet with two strangers in a roadside gas station. Then bizarre things starts happening and Shelby finds herself in deep danger. In second part, Tabitha comes to her aunt's house to visit. Then she finds out that, her aunt went outside and left the kids (two boys) alone. She wonders about the babysitter. Later a stranger knocks on the door and Tabitha gets into serious trouble. In third part, Lisa lives with her roommate Cat. All of a sudden, Cat disappears and Lisa tries her best to find Cat. Later, Lisa goes to an old hotel and suspects that her friend Cat might be inside. Lisa tries to break in and once again all the bizarre things starts happening.


So this movie tells the audience how these friends come to a strange old mansion. It also tells us who chases them all the time and what is his motive. Will Tabitha able to save her friends and discover the dirty conspiracy behind all of their recent problems. To find out all these answers you need to watch this movie.

==MY PERSONAL THOUGHT==


Amusement is a very decent horror movie with some gripping and very interesting twists in the storyline. Director John Simpson uses all the right elements(Three beautiful girls, one creepy villain and some serious thrilling moments) to make this movie interesting and enjoyable. But I am afraid, It does not work well this time.


I really like the first hour of this movie. Three unique stories describe how these three girls get into trouble. Each story lasts for 10-15 minutes and all of them are highly interesting. Each story has a unique style and very well presented. It shows the sequences of their lives (three girls) very accurately and concisely. So the audiences never feel bored.


I really enjoyed the part with the clown, when Tabitha goes to her Aunt's place to visit her. This is the best part of this movie. This mini-story is really well executed and and very attention-grabbing. That sick man "The Laugh" disguises as a life-size clown and tries to scare Tabitha.


But in later part, when Director starts adding all these different parts and try to make a connection between them, then it starts getting very weird. Then I find lots of plot holes. Some of the scenes do not make sense at all. It looks like; director already assumes that the general audience already know the script so if he misses some scenes or sequences still we can understand it. But in reality, it just feels really awkward. Some of the scenes or part of stories may seem familiar to you. Because all these traditional twists and sequences has already been used in some other recent horror movies.


Mr. Simpson was widely praised for his first full length psychological thriller film Freeze Frame. He wrote the script and directed this movie. This movie has a very unique and compact storyline and I really enjoyed it. Especially, he presented famous comedian Lee Evans in a very serious and thoughtful role.


I was expecting a better effort from Mr. Simpson in this movie. But this has a very weak second half and actually ruins the excellent and gripping first part. This movie was slated to be released on January, 2008. Due to some problems the release date changed quite a few times and later it was released direct-to-DVD version.


This movie has some serious disturbing scenes. Yes, I know usually horror movies have some disturbing and chilling scenes, but this one just exceeds the limit. Those scenes are so violent, explicit and horrific that MPAA rated this movie nc-17 which means, people under 17 needs proper permission (can't watch this alone) to watch this movie.


==CHARACTER ANALYSIS==


The mysterious man, who chases those three girls, has a troubled childhood. This character is known as '''"The Laugh"'''. When he was a boy he knew all these girls and went to same elementary school. He has a very weird and sick mentality and those girls were afraid of him. He has a very unique and distinctive laugh, and it scares the people. This troubled boy went to a mental hospital but doctors could not cure his problems. Later he starts chasing all those school mates and causes serious problems in their life.


This mysterious man lives alone and suffers from inferiority complex. He always thinks that people does not like him, does not care for him or his feelings. So he always does some weird and creepy stuff to get other notice his existence. But, in reality, he causes deep problems in their lives. He makes their lives like a living hell. But he takes it as a fun and enjoys torturing them. This sick and perverted action amuses that sick man (The Laugh). I think the title of this movie also refers to this.


On the other hand, these three girls (Shelby, Lisa and Tabitha) are best friends and according to Tabitha, they are simply inseparable. '''Tabitha''' is curious and sarcastic by nature and really cares for her friends and families. When she went to her aunt's place, she was also surprised to find out that there was no babysitter for those young kids. But, she did not complain about it, instead she takes care of the kids. She is really caring, helpful and kind by nature. She values the friendship and constantly tries her best to save her friends from that sick man. Director focuses on the character of Tabitha really well and presented on screen beautifully. Canadian born talented actress Katheryn Winnick plays the character of Tabitha. She acted in numerous TV serials and also in some studio feature films. She did a brilliant job in this movie. Her honest facial expression, really flexible body movements and immaculate delivery of dialogues makes the character of Tabitha really enjoyable and interesting.


==THINGS THAT PLEASED ME==


* Some surprising twists in storyline.
* Brilliant characterization of "Tabitha".
* Good cinematography.
* Some beautiful scenarios.


==INCONVENIENCES==


******* ***
There are some serious plot-holes in second half of the movie. Especially, how Tabitha gets into a lonely mansion after police gets hold of her is really unclear. The storyline does not clear this particular situation.


******* ***
New Zealand born actress Rena Owen played the character of on-site trauma counsellor in this movie. I found this character absolutely pointless and plain weird. She comes to a lonely mansion to help the state police by interrogating Tabitha about those horrible incidents. But, why she does not notice any police or proper authority in this mansion? Also why she does not take any notice about the security matter of Tabitha? I just find this character really weak and completely unnecessary.


******* ***
There are some needless strong violence, unnecessary graphic torture scenes and bloody gore scenes in this movie. This is really not recommended for younger generation. I also find some scenes very disturbing and stressful.


******* ***
Some of the scenes and sequences in this movie does not seem connected to each other.


******* ***
The second half of this movie is really boring. Especially, director John Simpson failed to connect all the stories with the final half of this movie properly. So it looks fairly odd and confusing.


******* ***

==VIEWERS RECEPTION==

Though this movie has an interesting plot, but there are so many plot holes in the second part, it does not look right at all. This movie gained generally mixed to negative responses from both movie critics and also viewers. Currently this movie has a 5.1/10 rating in IMDB voted by almost 2500 viewers.


'''Movie Website:''' http://www.amusementmovie.com/
'''Movie Trailer''' : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fmeGt-SXsg
'''IMDB rating:''' http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0476958/


==FINAL THOUGHT AND RECOMMENDATION==


I only watched this movie because of John Simpson. I really liked his first feature film, a gripping psychological thriller named Freeze Frame. But, this movie is truly disappointing. Although there are some really engaging scenes and surprising twists in the story-line but still it's not that satisfactory. I would never recommend you to buy the DVD of this movie; but you can rent the DVD from any rental store or wait to see it on TV channels. You can buy this movie from amazon.uk from only £6.98 with super saver free delivery.


Thank you very much for reading my review.


©Gladiator007


'''***This is a movie only review and also posted on CIAO and Dooyoo under same user name***'''

Summary: A decent horror movie.