Red Hook (2009)

An effective opening scene shows 10 year old Jenny see her sister murdered. Jump to Jenny (Brucato) in college where she is afraid to leave her dorm room. She becomes involved with Gavin (Ellington) and reluctantly agrees to a college scavenger hunt around New York City. A killer is using the game to track and kill the contestants. In what amounts to a modern slasher film, the set up and premise is a good one for a slasher film. Too bad it's 2009 and not 1980, because this movie misses every opportunity to be scary, fun and entertaining. Elizabeth Lucas directs like she is shooting a modern sitcom not a horror film. There is a little gore thrown in at the final minute but the lame acting and boring characters will make you lose your interest way before the killer can even get started.

Agreeing to participate in a scavenger-hunt game for her college, a troubled woman learns that her and her friends are being targeted by a vicious maniac who may or may not be responsible for her past and try to figure out his connection to the game to save the others.This is an incredibly bland and uninteresting slasher, if it really could be called one as this one is just a rather dull and agonizingly slow thriller masquerading as a horror film. By making the kills all pop up in the last half-hour, that forces us into the boring game for the first hour, and it's not in the slightest bit interesting to watch as this one just tends to wander around to each of the contestants not doing anything to hold our interest, as there's no unfurling mystery to be found in the clues, they just so happen to get along with the game and overall it just comes off as weak, uninteresting and even misses several prime moments of excitement (messing up a couple screwing in the woods being the prime example) before it gets to a rather lame, bland finale that's imminently predictable and not in the least bit interesting. The kills are bloodier than expected (yet don't deviate from a brandished knife as the weapon) and the central premise has some legs, but this one just isn't worth it.Rated R: Graphic Violence and Graphic Language.

I liked this low-budget film, but it wasn't what I expected. From the package, you're expecting a slasher, but this is more like Scream. I'm a New Yorker, and they really got the feel of the city, from the mundane to the scary (beware: there are lots of "in jokes" for the New Yorkers). The story is a bit uneven, but some of the acting is really good. Brucato plays that strange creepy introverted "girl with a past" with grating accuracy. What's crazy is that I think lots of the actors are really musical theater types - I mean Terrence Mann is on Broadway in the Addams Family right now. Not your typical horror cast. I guess you don't often see horror films directed by women, but that surely accounts for some of what makes the vibe of this film unique. Not gross scary. More like go-on-a-date scary. If you're willing to take it on its own terms, I'd recommend it. Bring your girl friend.

Don't let the nice cover of the movie fool you! This movie is somewhat of a disappointment.The story is slow moving, but will get you there eventually. There are times where the story becomes stale and brings down the flow of the movie. The plot is somewhat interesting, but it fails to shine through given the slow speed and lack of thrills throughout the movie.Some of the good things in the movie were some of the killing scenes, that they were actually adequate to look at. Also, despite having a super predictable story, there is a brief moment of interest when the reason for what is happening becomes revealed. But nothing to get you choked on your popcorn.I found most of the acting to be adequate, which helped me actually sit through the entire movie. But this movie is definitely not a movie that you will watch again once seen it. I do not recommend that you pick up this movie if you are looking for a good horror or thriller.