Flabby and depressing comedic slasher flick

Rating: 1/10 (23 May 2004)

Fifth-rate screenplay about teenagers terrorized by an all-too-clever serial killer is rampant with unpleasantness and TV-movie styled craftsmanship. It is one of director Wes Craven's worst efforts, but of course he's laughing all the way to the bank at critics who fail to chuckle at such nihilistic and exploitive aspects (such as Drew Barrymore happily gutted like a fish and left hanging for all to see). Most of the acting is vacuous, and the cruddy color and clanging technical set-ups just reek of bad taste. It shows the filmmaker to be without much talent or joy for making movies, and yet it's all so smug and 'unreal'. * from ****