Black Circle Boys

Although this film was nothing terribly outstanding it was a bit better than the usual teen slasher flick. Scott Bairstow is having a hard time dealing with the death of a younger brother and he and his parents moved to another town where he can finish up high school anonymously so to speak. This one time jock falls in with a crowd of Goths who are into Satan worship and are led by a charismatic Artful Dodger type played by Eric Mabius. The gang also has a Fagin in former New Kid on the Block and future detective Danny Reagan Donnie Wahlberg. He supplies them recreational pharmaceuticals, they break into houses and steal for him.

It takes a while to get his eyes wide open, but eventually Bairstow figures out that these Black Circle Boys are a truly evil bunch and that Mabius is a Charles Manson in training.

Lots of praise has been given to those already mentioned. But for me I liked Chad Lindberg who was rather touching as wannabe who wants so much to be accepted by Mabius that he goes out on his own and screws up royally. He pays a very heavy price.

Definitely Black Circle Boys is a bit better than most cinema of this type.

Well, I honestly didn't find this movie to be anything spectacular. I'd call it a guy version of "The Craft." Which means it was more gory, more violent, etc. But it wasn't half as fun as watching "The Craft." For instance, none of the boys had supernatural powers, so don't expect any special effects in that area. Character development was minimal and the ending was unsatisfying. I do think there are some promising actors in this group though. Eric Mabius as the bad boy leader Shane Carver had an excellent performance and I think his acting was the best it could be considering the character he played. Also Tara Subkoff as Chloe has proven to be a well defined actress. Check out "All Of Me" to see her do a great job in a starring role. I'd recommend this movie if you're looking for something a bit scarier than your normal fair but nothing too deep.

This isn't real bad for a cheapie that covers the life of a "super-exclusive" brotherhood that is addicted to drugs, alcohol, and violence. The faded colors appear like it was filmed in 1976, and the dark, gritty feeling illustrates the fact that Matthew Carnahan has some strong directing potential in his part of creating a sense of living a disturbing society. Remember, this is an indie effort I'm talking about here. Please don't expect this to be another blood-curled horror picture that would make the vote count rise to rapid pulse highs because this is an actual true story providing facts and figures, and it has a plot that is deep and moving. Two very interesting names in this film: Dee Wallace-Stone (E.T.) is Kyle's mother; the woman shouting and hollaring in a wild hangout scene is Grammy-nominated singer Lisa Loeb in a five-second cameo without the eyeglasses. Plus maybe a couple others, too. Why are they in this movie??? Well, I wouldn't rate it so high to call this an impressive work of art. It is a mildly entertaining surprise for a limited crowd who's got the intimate appeal to movies that portray gang violence. Fairly good, though.

"Black Circle Boys" seems promising enough. It's about a group of devil worshipping band members led by the devilish Eric Mabius who take in an outcast (Scott Bairstow), broken by the death of his best friend. The kid is cool with them, often taking bad drugs and p***ing off people, until he starts seeing their more violent sides. The film is worth watching for the strong performances from the cast, the script is realistic for the first two-thirds, and the low budget, grainy look makes things more creepier. The problem with the film is that the after an hour and fifteen minutes into the film, the screenwriter had no idea what to do with "Black Circle Boys" and turns into a silly slasher flick, with all of the typical horror movie cliches thrown in. The ending especially is a big cop-out for what seems like a great film. Overall, I recommend it for late night viewing, and if you're into independent films, it's a very interesting one, but the finale of the film is a big letdown and left me disappointed.

Here's a very disturbing little film. It's about a young guy called Kyle (Scott Bairstow White Fang 2, The Postman, Party of Five (tv)) whose family moves to a new (and boring) little town and he ends up attending a new high school -- trying to fit in, trying to deal with being the new guy and also trying to cope with the death of his best friend. He goes from A student to loser in forty-five minutes, giving up being a top athlete in exchange for the acceptance of a group of heavy metal wannabes and large amounts of drugs - virtually everything from pot to lsd to crack. His life spirals out of control. He ends up joining the BCB who are a small group of these high school losers who practice an invented brand of Satanism in the wooded state park behind the high school. The group's leader Shane (Eric Mabius (Party of Five (tv), Lawn Dogs, Welcome to the Dollhouse) is severely disturbed and influenced by drug dealer/fence Greggo (Donnie Wahlberg yeah, that one -- New Kids on the Block, baby) who is the local Temple of Set devil worshiper who recruits local high school losers and gets them to rob houses for him in exchange for drugs.

The plot moves along slowly as Kyle sinks into this realm of madness, but once there, it spins wildly out of control -- there is much violence (including sick satanic rituals where the Shane kills a cat and then they dig up a skeleton) and even murder. The acting is superb, and makes the overall effect of the film that much more disturbing.

Where are first it appears to be just another high school nostalgia film (heck, it looked like my high school), it becomes this horror film -- but way too realistic. One keeps asking, "where are the parents, where are the cops" as these lowlifes rampage through the town pillaging and killing and just making all sorts of mayhem.

In the end, Kyle must fight the demons which are pulling him under, and the second half of the film chronicles his attempts to overcome the darkness which threatens to consume and destroy him.