I have never wrote a movie review but for RWJ and Anna Akana this was an easy choice to make. I hope my following review helps them perfect their potential as creators of art in the film industry.
Acting: 4/10 The acting in this movie was mostly sub-par. It was good by amateur first attempt standards but most of the acting seemed really forced and didn't immerse me into the movie. Anna has a great YouTube channel but her acting needs a little work. She seems so much more natural on her YouTube show compared to this mini series. She has a lot of potential but needs more work and practice or should find other areas in show business she excels at. The cheerleaders were actually very convincing but as for both the gay guys, I don't know if it was the acting or just them successfully hitting the goal of very cliché, very annoying, very predictable gay guy, but it didn't rub me right at all. While the geek was convincing it seemed like the creators went to far out of their way to make him come off as geekish. The goth girl had good acting but her acting was not given enough screen time to shine. For the level of importance she played and her ability to act, co-star or at the very least more time to create a connection with this character should have been an easy decision to make but as it stands now I can't even remember her name.
Effects: 8/10 I really enjoyed the animated portraits of scenes that introduced the characters, the blood was convincing, the only way it could have scored higher here was if it had CGI animation with high budget resources at hand. All in all they were very good.
Story/Narration: 2/10 The story was very predictable, very cliché, and honestly everything was just rewashed stuff we have seen everywhere. This of course would have been fine had any kind of original twist had been placed on it. The story was not made their own and due to a few bad decisions by the director the story was very predictable and lost a lot of it's momentum very early. During act 1 at the lockers the prolonged camera stationed on what at the time I could only assume Ray wanted us to believe was an extra revealed to much. It instantly showed me the man with crutches was a man of importance, was connected most likely to the girl who they were talking about at the exact same time and just got done showing, and since most people watch trailers for movies or read descriptions before watching it, it was instantly realized that he was the man behind it. While not unique I think the one redeeming quality was the self narration by Riley. It really fit the atmosphere of the movie and was a great choice for this specific work.
Music: 10/10 The intro music was amazing, the music played during the movie perfectly fit the atmosphere. Nothing left to be said but good job.
Overall: 5/10 While the music and effects were great, the below average acting ruined the immersion of the movie. This coupled with a few bad director choices that really spoiled the plot and end of the movie pretty early on, really ruined what could have been a good movie. The only thing more disappointing then the plot being spoiled was the fact that the whole movie was one cliché after another. I hope to see in future works RWJ and Anna Akana make the characters personalities and plot their own. Rather then relying on stereotypes. The movie was good on armature standards and a great first attempt but this review is not adjusted to circumstances. If I could send one message to the two creators of this film I would say. Great first attempt, don't give up on your dreams, and strive for perfection while expecting mistakes.
Acting: 4/10 The acting in this movie was mostly sub-par. It was good by amateur first attempt standards but most of the acting seemed really forced and didn't immerse me into the movie. Anna has a great YouTube channel but her acting needs a little work. She seems so much more natural on her YouTube show compared to this mini series. She has a lot of potential but needs more work and practice or should find other areas in show business she excels at. The cheerleaders were actually very convincing but as for both the gay guys, I don't know if it was the acting or just them successfully hitting the goal of very cliché, very annoying, very predictable gay guy, but it didn't rub me right at all. While the geek was convincing it seemed like the creators went to far out of their way to make him come off as geekish. The goth girl had good acting but her acting was not given enough screen time to shine. For the level of importance she played and her ability to act, co-star or at the very least more time to create a connection with this character should have been an easy decision to make but as it stands now I can't even remember her name.
Effects: 8/10 I really enjoyed the animated portraits of scenes that introduced the characters, the blood was convincing, the only way it could have scored higher here was if it had CGI animation with high budget resources at hand. All in all they were very good.
Story/Narration: 2/10 The story was very predictable, very cliché, and honestly everything was just rewashed stuff we have seen everywhere. This of course would have been fine had any kind of original twist had been placed on it. The story was not made their own and due to a few bad decisions by the director the story was very predictable and lost a lot of it's momentum very early. During act 1 at the lockers the prolonged camera stationed on what at the time I could only assume Ray wanted us to believe was an extra revealed to much. It instantly showed me the man with crutches was a man of importance, was connected most likely to the girl who they were talking about at the exact same time and just got done showing, and since most people watch trailers for movies or read descriptions before watching it, it was instantly realized that he was the man behind it. While not unique I think the one redeeming quality was the self narration by Riley. It really fit the atmosphere of the movie and was a great choice for this specific work.
Music: 10/10 The intro music was amazing, the music played during the movie perfectly fit the atmosphere. Nothing left to be said but good job.
Overall: 5/10 While the music and effects were great, the below average acting ruined the immersion of the movie. This coupled with a few bad director choices that really spoiled the plot and end of the movie pretty early on, really ruined what could have been a good movie. The only thing more disappointing then the plot being spoiled was the fact that the whole movie was one cliché after another. I hope to see in future works RWJ and Anna Akana make the characters personalities and plot their own. Rather then relying on stereotypes. The movie was good on armature standards and a great first attempt but this review is not adjusted to circumstances. If I could send one message to the two creators of this film I would say. Great first attempt, don't give up on your dreams, and strive for perfection while expecting mistakes.