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Shawn
has the looks and voice to go all the way. His girlfriend,
Stacy, believes his talent could take him there. When a chance
audition lands him front and centre as the lead vocalist in
the world's hottest boy band, it seems he has finally got
his big break. But the rest of the group have hidden secrets
- they have sacrificed their souls in exchange for eternal
life. The band needs new blood and Shawn is someone strong,
pure and innocent to give their clan a new beginning...
Ring
of Darkness is a made for TV movie which has so many faults
that it is almost laughable. The plot would work for a 30
minute short, but stretched over an hour and 20 minutes the
cracks have become gaping holes.
The
movie plays like a pop video director's first attempt at movie
making - which it isn't, as director David DeCoteau has directed
plenty of horror movies (usually under the pseudonyms
of Joseph Tennent, Julian Breen, Jack Reed or Victoria Sloan,
to name a few of his many personalities).
The
tag line: "There is life after death" is meaningless
here. Is that really the best they could come up with?
I
also couldn't work out how Ryan Starr managed to land the
role of Stacy - it certainly wasn't because of her acting
ability. She is slightly less wooden than a drugged up porn
star. Her singing might be impressive, she was a finalist
in American Pop Idol, but as she never opens her mouth
to sing in this flick I am left wondering who would pick her
as an actress? Not only that, but she is the prominent character
on the video cover - which seems odd as she is only really
a supporting actress.
There
is nothing original about this movie and even when an attempt
is made to pay homage (rip-off) another cinematic style, it
falls flat on it's face. There is a scene which borrows heavily
from An American Werewolf in London. There is a nightmare
scene which is designed to make the audience jump, which is
then followed by another scene which is also supposed to be
jumpy... Well, this would have worked if it wasn't for the
fact that the music cue (blast of loud music) cuts in too
early so that you don't jump at all.
There
are other serious flaws in the script (like why when Shawn
finds a tape recording that a previous victim had made of
his own murder,
he didn't need to rewind it to hear what had gone on. He just
pressed play) but I can't even be bothered to pick at them.
The
only really neat touch is the fake photography of the band
members over the last 50 years - that was amusing.
And
finally, whoever mastered this film for video should be taken
out and shot as it has been transferred in the wrong aspect
ratio. This is fine if you have a widescreen TV, or any TV
where you can change the picture ratio. But if you have a
standard TV you will have to watch this movie is squeeze-o-vision,
which is just stupid.
This
is racist, sexist and dull.
Pete
Boomer
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