A perfect example of a film with an intriguing sounding plot--very similar to "The Clown at Midnight" and "Stage Fright aka Deliria" that was executed, or at least written, very poorly. Certainly this isn't the first film to do this, but that makes it even more problematic because by now filmmakers should know what to do and what not to do, particularly when you are working with the slasher genre. And one thing you DON'T do is make a boring slasher film, which is exactly what "Acts of Death" is.
The film centers around a group of college theater students who decide to initiate new students by playing a prank on them while they are in the theater. Unfortunately, something goes horribly wrong, and a'la "I Know What You Did Last Summer," some of the students decide to cover up their act. Bad idea. See, the next night, the same group of students get locked in the theater and begin getting picked off one by one by a mysterious killer.
The Bad: Sounds decent enough for a slasher film, right? Well, lets just say that for the first 45 minutes of this film I was BORED OUT OF MY MIND. Nothing happened except talking talking and more talking. By the time the action starts, I really didn't care because (a)I hated the characters and (b)I was half asleep. The plot meanders along with no real purpose, even when the killing starts. The acting is hokey, even for a low-budget horror film--I did not, for a second, believe these were college theater students. The twist comes out of left field and the, the film ends abruptly in a very unsatisfying way. It's a shame because this film could have been a decent slasher film if the director had remembered that is what he was making...not a WB teen drama.
The Good: Um....a cool death scene? Seriously....involving a wire and a pulley-like device. Pretty cool. Other than that....not much. I suppose the film looks OK and the setting is pretty effective, but really, the pacing and bad script sink this film.
Could have been better, but just isn't very good. There are much much better DTV slashers out there if you look. Avoid this unless, of course, you need something to put you to sleep. Trust me, it's not addictive.
My Grade: F
