Wes Craven's first fully-directed movie since Red Eye is nothing to
rave about — but why did audiences hate it so? (There was one other
person in the theater.) Maybe because, as Craven becomes more serious
as a filmmaker, fans of the earlier stuff aren't going along with him.
Look in vain here for the trashy jolt of Shocker or the satiric fun of
the Scream movies; Craven is clearly trying to rise above the genre.
While in a way, it's a standard teen slasher flick, it doesn't cut
corners or subject us to too many cheap non-thrills. (The problem may
be that there just isn't enough gore.) But it's an old-fashioned (in
the best sense) well-told story with seven main characters, most of
whom are nicely fleshed out — before their flesh is ripped and their
life goes out. Max Theriot has been quietly competent in a string of
forgettable kid pics; he's good here, and along with a young actress
named Zena Grey, who startlingly resembles Molly Ringwald, should go
places. Important footnote: never has a movie benefitted less from the
3D format. Enough already! — Jeff Schultz