Tormented

Director: Jon Wright
Screenwriter: Stephen Prentice
Starring: Alex Pettyfer, April Pearson, Dimitri Leonidas, Calvin Dean, Tuppence Middleton, Georgia King
Running time: 91 mins
Certificate: 15

Let's face it, a group of gorgeous teenagers being picked off one-by-one by a psychotic killer is hardly an original concept. We've had Scream, I Know What You Did Last Summer and more recently a reimagined Friday The 13th. We've been introduced to vengeful fishermen, mask-wearing film-buffs and numerous urban legends. But, what we haven't had - until now - is a British version...or an inhaler wielding, asthmatic zombie killer.

Justine Fielding (Tuppence Middleton) is head girl at Fairview High, an institute that appears to epitomise every stereotypical clique imaginable. Bored of her old friends and looking for some fun, she hooks up with charming Alexis (Dimitri Leonidas) and finds herself propelled to the top of the school hierarchy. What Justine doesn't know is that her new friends are hiding a dark secret. Last summer, they bullied Darren Mullett (Calvin Dean) so relentlessly that he took his own life. And now he's back, and he wants revenge.

Herein lies the problem of the movie - by revealing the killer so early on, the filmmakers have essentially removed any element of suspense. From the outset, you know exactly who is on the target list and if they're wandering around a graveyard at night or meandering in an empty school, it's a fair bet that they're about to meet a sticky end. Furthermore, the victims are so under-developed and lacking of redemption that you don't hugely care what happens to them. Even poor Justine, who is sucked into his revenge plot on some very whimsical zombie logic, fails to drum up any empathy.

While Darren has all the groundwork for being a truly original villain - a zombie ghost who relies on his inhaler to function (yes, zombie ghosts do breathe) - the reality often falls flat, partly because Dean is not given any dialogue or remotely interesting characteristics, but also because he simply isn't scary. That being said, his increasingly imaginative and gory methods of murder as he loses control of his revenge plot do provide some refreshing hands-over-eyes moments.

But the biggest problem that faces Tormented is that, while trying hard not to take itself too seriously, it seems to want to promote a strong moral message. Unfortunately, the juxtaposition doesn't really work, mostly because you're never quite sure whether to take it seriously. Case in point - the bumbling headmaster (brilliantly portrayed by Peter Amory) trying to wipe out bullying but seemingly oblivious to the piling body count on campus.

Essentially, Tormented is a nostalgic look at its slasher movie predecessors, which revels in classic cliches and tongue-in-cheek scenarios (think open graves, conveniently located cemeteries and the ubiquitous Shakespeare lesson). There are enough jumpy moments to keep you satisfied and enough fake blood to fill an Olympic swimming pool, as well as a couple of genuinely convincing performances from Stormbreaker's Alex Pettyfer and Skins alum April Pearson. In the end, what Tormented lacks in US gloss and glamour it more than matches in escapist fun, making it an enjoyable, if forgettable, ride.


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