Amusement (2008)
Film Review
By the Geezer of Oz
“Three women are stalked by a killer with a grudge that extends back to the girls’ childhoods.” (IMDb)
A friend recently suggested that I give this film a try. About five or ten minutes into viewing, I realized that I have actually seen it before. Not remembering a movie you’ve already seen is generally not a good sign as to its quality.
Long story short, I watched it (again) and while not a great film, it is certainly not the worst, either. Just a bit of fun to help kill off an hour and a half.
Amusement is director John Simpson‘s follow up to 2004’s Freeze Frame and it is not a terrible film, nor is it a very good one. The performances are above average and the production value quite decent. The storyline is not highly inventive, but not a direct copy of other films either.
It stars Katheryn Winnick (Killers, Choose, Dark Tower, TV’s Vikings), Keir O’Donnell (Pathology, American Sniper, Incarnate), Laura Breckenridge (Breakdance Academy), Jessica Lucas (The Covenant, Cloverfield, Evil Dead 2013, TV’s Gotham), Tad Hilgenbrink (Disaster Movie, Lost Boys: The Tribe, The Hills Run Red), Reid Scott (The Veil, TV’s Veep) and Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors, Veronika Decides to Die, The Last Witch Hunter).
So after all, while the fact that I didn’t recall having seeing it before was a bad sign, not being bored at all while watching it a second time was a pretty good sign. Of course, watching Katheryn Winnick (Lagertha from Vikings, who is a major crush of mine) for ninety minutes, can’t be all that bad.
It’s also always nice when a film tries to stay faithful to its title, as this one is… mildly amusing.
5.5/10.
