247°F (2011)

Jenna (Scout Taylor-Compton) whose boyfriend is killed in the confusing opening scene agrees to come "out of her comfort zone" (clever play on words) and go to a remote cabin owned by Uncle Wade (Tyler Mane) a man who loves the noble weed. Jenna goes with Renee (Christina "hot pink bikini" Ulloa) her idiot boyfriend Michael (Michael Copon) and Ian (Travis Van Winkle). It doesn't take long for the three of them (minus Michael) to get trapped in a sauna.I had trouble attempting to figure out what the first killing had to do with the script or where "247" came into this thing as we don't get to see any indication of heat. The film is slow developing and once things start to happen, it is still slow and must be filled in with outside events and flashbacks. The acting wasn't particularly bad, but the script was downright awful.If you want to see a better film that has 247 degrees in the title, try "247 Degrees North." If you want to see a better film about people locked in a sauna, try "The Steam Experiment." Or if you want to see a better movie where people have sex to classical music: "A Clockwork Orange."I should have turned it off after I saw the confusing opening, "based on true events" and "3 years later."Parental Guide: F-bomb, brief sex, no nudity.

I read the above reviews, then I watched it anyway -- just to judge for myself. I thought it was really pretty suspenseful and riveting. The only thing about it that really bothered me had nothing to do with quality of film-making, storyline, acting, etc... it was the existence, and stupidity, of people who, in real life, truly are as self-centered, insensitive, careless and oblivious to what's going on around them as are a couple of the characters in this movie. I spent half the movie wanting to reach into the screen and bitch-slap them to their senses!! (lol) (But then, if a movie DOESN'T evoke strong emotions in the viewer, THAT'S when it's not worth watching.)

Terrible acting, bad plot, lame/annoying characters, stupid ending.I thought the movie would be a little cheap and might be kind of funny, but it was so much worse than I could have dreamed.Any college student in a film course could have made this movie better.1/10Not sure why this review needs to be at least ten lines, I can sum up this movie with one word - TERRIBLE!!Do not waste your timeAny other movie would be a better choiceI cant believe anyone could like this movie at all

Four friends gather for a weekend trip that turns into a nightmare when three of them end up stuck inside of a sauna.There's not much to go on other than that for a synopsis but movies banking on a claustrophobic vibe have tackled even bigger challenges. One only has to think about Buried, featuring Ryan Reynolds all alone and six feet under. A good screenplay featuring rich characters and interesting conflicts could probably have carried 247°F but unfortunately, this wasn't the case here.247°F features cookie-cutter protagonists who follow the usual formula but without much savvy and no heart. Of course, you've got the prototypical troubled girl as the main character. Her carefree hot female friend. The cynical jock who is the hottie's insensitive boyfriend and of course, the more down to earth dude who may or may not hook up with our heroin.Georgia is a country that more and more international productions are turning to for cost-effective shooting, so I suppose they might as well turn to making their own movies. This one has the look and production values of a typical American straight-to-video. The problem here is the story, the screenplay. The movie begins by highlighting the past of Jenna, a now quiet girl who survived a car accident but lost her boyfriend. 247°F takes place three years later, as a medicated Jenna still struggles to get past that tragedy. Unfortunately, the screenplay and direction never make this gripping.One could hope the story would finally take off once the three characters get stuck inside but this is not the case either. There is no character development, not much in the way of interesting conflicts. No smart thinking and not much drama unfolding other than the three of them successively losing their temper or arguing pointlessly. All of this intersecting with a few scenes featuring people on the outside going about their business. Will the three find a way out? Will someone on the outside help them? Those two questions are what 247°F is all about but unfortunately, the screenplay doesn't build much suspense. The audience is simply left waiting with very little sense of anticipation being built up.Scout Taylor-Compton is adequate as Jenna. The other protagonists are played by standard B-movie actors probably picked because they are nice too look at. The music score is decent. There are no major faults as far as cinematography... but as a whole, this is below average film making with no heart, because such a story demands a much richer screenplay.It should also be mentioned that despite this being listed in the horror genre, there is very little here that qualifies the movie as such. (I personally did not mind and I did not lower the rating for that, but think it deserves to be mentioned so that others won't be disappointed)