Such a frustrating disappointment

So much average

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

This movie is pathetic. I THINK its supposed to be a cheap Horror-Comedy type of nonsense film that, assuming that is the case, completely misses on the humor, lacks originality, and lacks effort. The dialogue from the get-go is terrible and cliché beyond words. Characters saying the ol' "what persons of this age/socioeconomic status would say in this situation who are best friends but so terrible to each other!" Again, If the supposed objective is spoofing movies in a campy horror movie style, it doesn't work at all. If the objective is to make the audience laugh on its merits, I can't imagine who's laughing. What was with the limo driver addressing each character exiting the limo? That early scene was Unforgivably unoriginal/unfunny to the point there's no redemption possible for me (I did continue watching however). The acting for the first 30 minutes of the movie is noticeably uninspired as if they did it on one take at the end of the shoot. Oddly it becomes better as the movie progresses, as if only the second half of the movie was actually the movie and the first 30 minutes was written in 30 minutes, filmed in 30 more and never revisited, revised or edited.Last items -The use of the F curse is, again, over-exposed, unoriginal, and ruins a lot of scenes for me. Its overuse doesn't come off as adding comedic value, rather, annoying and unoriginal. -Having one character tripping balls on mushrooms; sooooooo overplayed come on this is he best you could do? *One funny moment is the playing of the privately incognito sex tape. The bad part about this; proving this movie is capable of entertaining the audience if it wants to.If Danielle Harris wasn't attached to this picture you wouldn't be seeing anything above a 3. Keywords; unoriginal, not funny, lack of effort toward script/acting. Why would you want to watch a movie with these attributes. The 4.5 aggregate rating is for Danielle Harris' name.

I saw this film at the Imagine film festival 2013 in Amsterdam. The synopsis on the festival website sounded very interesting. And it started alright, when the characters were introduced one by one, as a natural side effect of loading them all in a limo, hired to collect and bring them to the house where the party was. Cocktails were served, and everyone was prepared to have an enjoyable evening, with a possible extension of sleeping with one of the old friends.When the host announces an "evening of integrity", no one suspects anything yet, not seeming to feel even a bit of uneasiness. It starts normally too, like a whodunit game. Couples are sent out to the various rooms to find clues for the mystery that has to be solved. Nothing out of the ordinary yet. While visiting the respective bedrooms, old memories and old bonds are refreshed. Everyone is prepared for an enjoyable evening with a diner among old friends, an additional game to pass the evening, and a conclusion in some of the bedrooms.The atmosphere changes dramatically after the cocktails. The hostess is a psychiatrist, obviously having access to drugs. Only she is still standing, while all others awake one by one and find themselves tied to their chairs. Plus there is Lily, who we see on the video screen lying in a bathtub, seemingly dead but without further details about her fate. The hostess has a remote control unit and shows pictures and video's about past and present events, and makes very clear that there are several axes to grind. From that moment on, it turns into an uninteresting blood&gore (or torture porn) movie, where several people are wounded without a real purpose other than causing pain, only to settle an ancient account. This takes 2/3 of the running time, and I cannot find any merits in it.We have to wait until the last 15 minutes to witness something interesting again. It has to do with Lily, who was forced to have sex with some of those present, while several others saw or heard it happening but did nothing to stop it. Of course, those involved all say they are "sorry", but that makes it even worse. I will not reveal more, if only to prevent spoilers.All in all, this film was not enjoyable to watch, for me that is, since I always try to evade torture porn movies. The plot is original and could have been exploited much better. The beginning and ending are perfect, but the hour in between is hardly bearable to watch, because of the fact that there is no reason (that we know of at that time) for all the pain caused. In hindsight we get the message that there was indeed a real purpose, but that is too late. In other words, the scenario is unbalanced and should spread the information flow more evenly over the running time. The festival visitors gave this film the last-but-one place (40th out of 41) with average score 5.3.

Among Friends is a new movie about a group of friends who get together for a dinner party which turns into a violent, horrific and ultimately hilarious ordeal. Bernadette (Alyssa Lobit) organises a 1980's themed murder mystery for her BFFs, who unsuspectingly arrive in anticipation of nothing more than a playful evening of cocktails, drugs and the possibility of hopping into bed together. What they don't realise is that Bernadette has a bone to pick with each one of them, and before long the party becomes a trial, with their deliciously manic host serving as judge, jury and executioner.Featuring cameos from the likes of Kane Hodder and Michael Biehn, in addition to being the directorial debut of Danielle Harris (Rob Zombie's Halloween, Hatchet I-III), Among Friends certainly comes with a genre pedigree. The writing, construction and shoot of the film was overseen by an almost entirely female crew. Elements of The Perfect Host (2010) and The Last Supper (1995) are combined with a unique and energetic method of delivery. Harris' direction is sharp, frenetic and delightfully sinister and the performances from Lobit, Brianne Davis, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and AJ Bowen are particularly noteworthy. A Day-Glo descent into Hell, Among Friends is a brilliantly funny, acerbic examination of friendships, lies and betrayal. Gory, gleeful and gorgeous, it manages to consistently digress from stereotype, creating a very unique feature in the process. It's as if the Breakfast Club had a get together twenty years later at the Firefly homestead from House of 1000 Corpses. Incredibly enjoyable, this movie has a lot of heart, and a lot of blood to go with it.

I am admittedly a die-hard fan of Danielle Harris, and so I was very hopeful that this film would be enjoyable, but in the end Among Friends completely exceeded even my highest expectations. A lifetime in front of the camera in the ambiance of horror has certainly paid off behind the camera, and it was clear that this film drew inspiration from the classics without sacrificing any originality.From the onset, there is a very throwback feel to Among Friends as we are introduced to the characters through jumpy transitions between quickly paced shots and still images. To circumvent the limitations of a low budget, the film takes on the backdrop of the 1980s via an 80's themed party to avoid the anachronism of the occasional cell phone or modern car. All the while, there is plenty of gore and random humor to string everything together perfectly, and the characters are surprisingly well developed despite the shirt run time.I cannot recommend this movie highly enough; it is original, loaded with cameos, and very rewatchable.