THE FINAL (2010), Isn't As Horrible As It May Seem, But...

The Final, stars Marc Donato, Jascha Washington, Whitney Hoy and is directed by Joey Stewart in his feature debut.

Up front, this film got a 5.4 / 10 on IMDb, but it's not quite as bad all that, but it's close. The film starts out with a teaser scene that gives us a curious insight to what could be happening, then bounces back to a high school, where we spend the first act being introduced to a set of school outcasts who find themselves on the receiving end of the school bullies, whether it be the school bully jocks or the school fashionistas who spend all their time belittling anyone who is beneath them.

You know the type, back from the day, and the film does a good job immortalizing the aholiness of these kind of soulless kids.

The second act of the film shows the outcasts starting to plan and plot but it's not as obvious as it could be, but as the second act winds down, it becomes all too clear what's going to happen, as the outcasts manage to invite all the bullies to a party, a party that has spiked punch which then becomes a collection of bullies tied up in chains and slowly finds themselves getting what comes to them.

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The film doesn't really cover new ground in any facet of this classic tale of torment and revenge, nor does it evolve out into anything new as the plots and plans of the outcasts start to come apart. In fact, just as we get to the point where the viewer may start thinking that this is not going anywhere at all, it does take a bit of a turn and moves on into the culmination of the third act.

The film feels like a cross of Saw meets The Purge with a sprinkle of Deliverance, but not quite as good as any of them.

But what is it they say... first or last impressions can make or break an introduction or a sporting event? Well, the film does make a curious but not bad first impression with it's opening teaser while as the film wraps up, it will make an impression with a closing statement about being a bully. It's just a shame that the statement is made in such a mediocre film.

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