TAMARA
A City Lights Media Group Release
Story - $10.75
Acting - $9.75
Directing - $10.75
Production Design - $9.75
Special Effects - $10.75
Score/Music - $10.75
*"REEL" VALUE - $10.42 = “Carrie” meets
“The Craft” with a fresh spin, that taps into your worst high school
nightmare to deliver a sexy supernatural thriller.
SYNOPSIS: Tamara Riley (DEWAN) is a shy teenager picked on by her
high school classmates. When she is accidentally killed as the result of
an awful prank, Tamara returns from the dead as a sexy seductress out
for revenge and obsessed with the man she loves.
REVIEW: Jeffrey Reddick, the screenwriter who originated the
successful “Final Destination” franchise, focuses his unique writing
talents on the already traumatic world of high school and injects a bit
of witchcraft to serve up a truly terrorizing tale. Reddick, like
screenwriter Kevin Williamson (Scream series & Dawson’s Creek) has
a keen ear for weaving dialogue and shaping characters that feel
authentic. He writes solid dialogue that’s not clichéd or over
populated with one-liners. Reddick, a big fan of the horror genre,
creates dreadful moments by scripting “punishments” for his
“villains” fit of a Solomon or Hammurabi, but with a flare for
sadomasochism. Yet, he can show as much sincere compassion and
tenderness as he can be shocking. In the first act he creates a
sympathetic and humble character, which allows us to empathize for
Tamara, even though she is the catalyst for these unspeakable acts of
revenge.
Reddick’s script is only as good as the director and cast, and both
elements are above average for an independent genre film. The
key-casting element is Tamara, played by the talented Jenna Dewan. I’m
sure any actress worth her salt could play a high school vamp, but
offsetting that with the introverted and timid girl is a challenge.
It’s the lynchpin of the film. Dewman does an excellent job of
creating this “Jekyll & Hyde” duality in her character, and
manages to bring it out through the vamp at required moments. Director
Jeremy Haft is unquestionably a fan of the genre, evident in the setups
and execution of the film’s dramatic moments, especially the scary
ones. He does a great job of directing his cast to capture the
fluctuating emotions, enhancing the performances by setting up and
lightening the scenes to get the maximum emotional impact. For all of
TAMARA’s serious and horrific moments, Haft instills a level of wicked
frivolity that makes it both fast paced and entertaining. Still, a
portion of that can be attributed to Dewan once she gets her mojo going.
I did have a couple of minor problems with the film. I thought actor
Matthew Marsden’s performance has some low moments where he felt more
like one of the kids, instead of coming across as an authority figure
and mentor. There were also a couple of scenes that felt compromised or
self censored, like the scene where we see Tamara’s revenge on the
jock’s.
When you think about all the classic horror movies, from “Night of the
Living Dead” to “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” they were the ground
breaking independent films of their times. What set those films apart
are direction, script, and cast, and TAMARA has all three going for it.
Haft and Reddick are a deadly duo that, with an outstanding performance
by actress Jenna Dewan, earns TAMARA the FEARSmag.com’s “Scream”
of approval.
CREW: Director - Jeremy Haft; Screenplay - Jeffrey Reddick;
Producers - Danny Fisher, Matt Milich, Chris Sievernich, & Martin
Wiley; Cinematography - Scott Kevan; Score - Michael Suby; Production
Design - Gordon Wilding; Costume Design - Linda Madden; Special Makeup
Effects Artist - Heather Mages; Visual Effects Supervisor - Dale Tanguay.
CAST: JENNA DEWAN... Tamara Riley; MATTHEW MARSDEN... Mr. Bill
Natolly; CHAD FAUST... Jesse; GIL HACOHEN... Patrick; CLAUDETTE MINK...
Sheila; MELISSA ELIAS... Kisha; CHRIS SIGURDSON... Mr. Riley; KATIE
STUART... Chloe.
* Based on the regular $10.75 ticket prices of a Manhattan
theater.
Reviewer: Joseph
B. Mauceri
Score: 
Related web link: www.tamaramovie.com