In 1965, after provoking a fire in a forest, the rebel teenager Heather Fasulo is sent to the boarding school Falburn Academy in the middle of the woods by her estranged mother Alice Fasulo and her neglected father Joe Fasulo. The dean Ms. Traverse accepts Heather in spite of the bad financial condition of her father. The displaced Heather becomes close friend of he weird Marcy Turner, while they are maltreated by the abusive mate Samantha Wise. During the nights, Heather has nightmares and listens to voices from the woods, and along the days she believes that the school is a coven of witches. When some students, including Marcy, simply vanish, Heather believes she will be the next one.
Review :
This is Lucky McKee's most mainstream movie yet. It's set up in a very straightforward way and has at least one relatively big name in the cast (Bruce Campbell). It has good effects and a relatively normal plot.
That is it's main weakness - unlike the more experimental work out of McKee in the past, this movie is very middle of the road. That's not to say it's BAD, per se - just less audacious in it's execution.
It is well acted and the movie is directed with a sure hand - a hand that is steady beyond it's direct experience, by the way. The effects are somewhat off putting (I prefer in camera effects and this is done with CGI) but they are actually well done and do not distract from the plot.
And the plot is well done. It's revealed somewhat slowly, but that is a good thing - you don't want to reveal it too fast in a movie such as this. Perhaps there isn't enough plot to really stretch it out as long as it was in this movie - an attentive viewer figures it out at the 45 minute mark and it becomes a trudge to the climax after that. But it's still good and a fun trudge.
Overall, this is good and well worth watching. Not neccessarily a DVD to buy, but definitely one to watch.
