Jack the Reaper (2013)

'Charon High School:' now there is a great start, Charon being the oarsman on the boat that crosses the rivers Styx and Acheron separating the living world from the underworld. The film is a murder elimination derby, so nice telegraphing.Twenty-something actors playing teen characters in high school gather for a field trip. Heather is pregnant by a not ready for fatherhood boy. Jesse's being treated badly by her father. Various bullying pairs are present. One of the girls is deaf.All the idiots on the bus have not completed a paper about the Industrial Revolution for one of their classes. The teacher makes everything clear: do the field trip without nonsense, then pass the class. Otherwise, fail.Mr. Steele gives the first lecture at a location filled with memorabilia from the 19th century part of the Industrial Revolution. He emphasizes the dangers of the iron horse.One of the kids sees a figure by the road on the way there. Mr. Steele later identifies him as Railroad Jack, who is a reaper of sorts. If one has seen him, then he has eyes on you, and so on.On the way back, the trouble starts. The bus crashes. The f word is issued liberally. The cell phone coverage fails. The teacher is gone. The bus driver is gone.Then the kids see the 'carnival.' Sure. The kid who warns about the man she kept seeing on the way is laughed down. They find no one, they find no telephone that works. Are these clues? They get a number of the attractions to operate, and have fun for a while, but then the fun ends.Will any of these deserving teens survive? -----Scores------Cinematography: 4/10 Camera shake, washed out appearance. Seems to be only VHS quality in sunlight as well.Sound: 7/10 I could make out the spoken words. The incidental music was not the best.Acting: 4/10 All the actors portraying teens gave poor performances. Why not hire absolute amateurs of the correct age and get better performances? Tony Todd was great as usual; that's what the +4 is for.Screenplay: 4/10 Teen murder elimination derby; better than some, worse than most.SFX: 0/10 Horrible.

I had wanted to see this since I first heard of it and was actually pleasantly surprised. I rented it, thinking it would be a terrible film that I could enjoy making fun of. And I was only partially correct. The acting was fantastic, but I was not impressed by the writing or directing. It wasn't really that bad, but there's something about it that I just couldn't stand. The ending was quite awful as well (I think that it should have just been a regular slasher, not some weird ending film where they were all dead to begin with). All in all, if you're looking for a way to kill a night with a killer-chasing-teens slasher movie, it's worth a watch.

This film drew me into the horror genre the way no other could I've always been more into SciFi but there was something about it that drew me in. was it the Star names attached to it? was it the haunting Music in the trailer? or was it the top showing at Canes Indie? whatever it was Ms. Seilhamers enticing script and characters (both those played by the stars we know and the ensemble who are sure to be stars in their own right)kept me on the edge of my seat and showed me that even the most innocent of us has a dark side. She follows a format that I've come to see as reminiscent of classic 80s slasher films but brings it to life (death?) with a formula all her own. I look forward to more to come from this director who i see has already made quite the splash in the writing field of this industry and the stars both current and future involved in this slasher-thriller masterpiece!

This movie sits very comfortably in its genre. I love horror films and I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Tony Todd is always a pleasure to watch, and I would have liked to have seen more of him. We can only hope for a sequel or two that brings him back in this role.The story centers around a group of high school students whose Saturday field trip goes to hell when their bus crashes in the desert with nothing in site but a creepy abandoned carnival. Writer/director Seilhamer has created a fascinating world of "The Reapers", who mysteriously appear when it's someone's time to go, and answer only to the one they call "Mother". This film introduces us to Railroad Jack, a particularly creepy Reaper with a fondness for his pickaxe.I thought the plot and back-story were quite original, and there are some solid performances among the young cast. Excellent make-up and pretty impressive use of effects considering the ultra-low budget.Considering how badly these kinds of movies can turn out sometimes, this one was a very refreshing surprise. I solidly recommend it!! You won't be disappointed.