HF: Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween!

And one more...

THE FORSAKEN

(J.S. Cardone, 2001)

This is a rewatch of a movie I saw when it was released theatrically 20 years ago. It's the first time I've seen it since, and it's mostly been forgotten as it was a box-office dud and did poorly with critics. The reviews aren't exactly unearned, as I hadn't realized at the time how derivative it is of the much better Near Dark. The cast is comprised of a half dozen or so actors who at the time were angling to be Next Big Things but it never really happened for any of them. Kerr Smith stars as a trailer editor who agrees to deliver a vehicle across country on his way to his sister's wedding. Once he hits the desert South, he becomes entangled with a vampire hunter and a group of vampires. For coming out in 2001, there's almost no Scream-style self reference. It mostly plays everything straight. I very much liked it at the time, but to be fair there were few teen-aimed movies I disliked back during those years. The first half mostly works, but the denouement clumsily relies on a shoot-out. It's also sad just how little the two women in the film have to do. Might be an interesting time capsule for CW pinup's of the era. With Johnathon Schaech, Simon Rex, Brendan Fehr, and Izabella Miko. GRADE: C+