"Among Friends" objectively looks and sounds like a mundane and conventional slasher, and it really is just that. In all honesty I have to say that, based on the plot description or encountered reviews, I probably never would have bothered to seek out this film if it weren't for the fact that Danielle Harris directed it. She starred in a handful of really entertaining movies ("Hatchet II", "Stake Land", "Blood Night") as well as in a couple of disappointing duds ("Shiver", "Camp Dread"), and in 2012 she brought her career to the next level by making her debut as a director with "Among Friends". I'm very happy that, since 2007, Danielle became a very frequent and reliable horror leading lady/scream queen. Then we didn't hear or see anything remarkable from Danielle Harris for about fifteen years, until she made a phenomenal horror comeback in Rob Zombie's "Halloween" ironically enough the remake of the original of the franchise that made her famous. I was completely mad about little Jamie Lloyd in her eerie jester costume, and that cherubic yet mysterious face always remained printed in my pre-adolescent mind. The first one was Christina Ricci, based on her inimitably stoic performance of Wednesday in "The Addams Family", and the other one was Danielle Harris, based on her appearances in the "Halloween" sequels 4 and 5 (which I actually wasn't yet allowed to watch) and the Bruce Willis vehicle "The Last Boy Scout". All in all, it starts up quick and maintains its pace providing an amazing ride!īack when I was around 10-12 years old, in the glorious early nineties that was, I had two celebrity crushes. When I first saw her, I thought she was too pretty bring off the role but she fearlessly takes on the drug trip aspect and sells it brilliantly. Jules, too, shines in her role and brings depth to her party-girl persona. This provides the perfect contrast in the rare moments when she does flip out. Bernadette plays her insanity with a subtleness and restraint that could have thrown the movie off the rails. Towards the end, Jules (the blond bombshell who's tripping) goes into a full blown hallucination which throws out an even more unsettling vibe with a gasp-inducing consequence. Throw in some mushrooms and general trippiness and what's not to like? The rock solid script takes you through the various sins with some excellent group dynamics and ensemble acting. In the course of the night, she shows the hidden videos of the "friends" cheating on each other, raping each other and spying on each other, while keeping their secrets. Sure, the fact that she's engaged in deception to know all that she knows and has her own hypocrisies doesn't make sense.that's why she's psychotic. From there, she exposes their lies and hypocrisies. Bernadette, a lovely psychotic psychologist, plans a party murder mystery party for her friends.and then drugs them so they can't move. I haven't read the rest of the reviews but how does this rate 4.5? As one reviewer said, it's The Breakfast Club in the House of 1000 Corpses.and I'd add Come Back To The Five And Dime, Jimmy Dean.
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