[Simon Says]
Plot:A group of college kids on spring break decide to pay an ill-advised visit to the graveyard of Billy The Kid's family. Soon they come face to face with evil itself, which takes on many different personalities.

Cast:Crispin Glover, Michael Paloma, Bruce Glover, Margo Harshman, Greg Cipes, Blake Lively, Artie Baxter, Carrie Finklea, Erica Hubbard, Ernie Lively, Harold Smith, Kelly Vitz.

My Thoughts:Good effort but slips at the end.

Review::"Simon Says" is the latest genre effort to take a "stab" at the slasher film subgenre. The pic follows a group of kids who trek into the woods for a camping trip. The usual stuff is planned, screwing, smoking dope, yeah......the usual. However, there was one thing they never counted on. Two...things actually...a brother duo who are as sadistic and murderous as they are dangerous. And they have designs on killing anyone in their path. The movie plays out liek the typical forest-based serial slasher movie. For example, the "Friday the 13th" films. The only difference is, this group of kids are slightly more tolerable, alot less square, and oh did I mention Crispin Glover is trying to kill them?

That's right, the actor with a cult following from "Charlies Angels 1 and 2", and of course "Friday the 13th:The Final Chapter" is starring as the films demented villain, pulling double duty as Simon and Stanley, a pair of really twisted twin brothers. While the backstory of the duo is told at the very beginning, and then a little more later on by way of flashbacks, writer/director William Gear plays with our minds for the duration of the film about whether Simon and Stanley both are behind the killings, or are one in the same.

That's pretty much the million dollar question in this movie, which we pondr as we watch Crispin's character wreak havoc on anyone he comes into contact with. And the fact that the film is set in a remote woods area of course puts the characters into a scenario where any cries for help are for the most part useless and futile. So Mr. Glover has them all to himself, and he really tears it up in this pic. Glover plays Simon and Stanley with alot of charisma, and flare. And he actually looked like he was having fun in the role, which helped the characters evil side really seem natural and creepy at times.

The deaths in the film are every gore fans wet dream. They're not watered down or kept to a tame level at any point. They're full on, in your face, blood, brutal, and boastful.....all the while sprinkled with a little black humor along the way, due to the reaction of Glover's characters every time they dispose of someone. No one is safe in this picture either. Normally most horror films, particularly slashers....follow a certain set of rules when it comes to who lives and who dies. But not in "Simon Says", a film in which everyone is fair game, and everyone gets it.

There are even points where people who aren't a part of the group of camping kids are cornered and slaughtered by Simon and Stanley. The guys are just merciless, and alot of the deaths are done in a very unique and creative fashion. Which keeps them from getting boring and tedious, as each new death has it's own personal style and way of unfolding. So when you go into seeing this film, don't expect simple stabbings, and people being choked to death. No, "Simon Says" really pushes the limits on it's death sequences, keeping thme fresh, original, and unique throughout.

The characters themselves are pretty much throwaways in my opinion. You can pretty much figure out what order the campers will die in (such as token minority girl first), and they're pretty much clones of past one-dimensional slasher film victims. The guy who cheats on his girlfriend, the slut, the fed up girlfriend, as I stated above the token minority, and the stoner who looks like Jason Mewes....and even sounds like him a bit. Howeve,r with how cool the deaths are, it's still alot of fun watching them get picked off.

"Simon Says" does hit a bump in the road though, and it comes at the end of the film where the script seems to go around in circles for awhile, and scenes which lead to the last person alive being chased by the killers aren't written very well in the way that they are set in motion. Unlike in other slasher films, where a major turning point allows the last person or persons alive to espcae the killers grip, in "Simon Says" the turning points aren't really major, but more like forced and seemingly thrown in just for the hell of it. Beyond those few issues, "Simon Says" is a good slasher film, which holds up really well for 90 minutes thanks to the outstanding performance of Crispin Glover.

Positives:Great performance by Glover, awesome kills, lots of blood and gore.

Negatives:A few sloppily written sequences near the finale of the film.

Overall:Above average slasher effort.





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