Silent Scream

I got this from Netflix last night and it's easily the WORST movie I've seen in quite sometime-if not ever. It was so bad it irritated me and I turned it off. I couldn't get it back in the mail quick enough. It blows ass. It was so convoluted. The continuity made no sense. The acting is atrocious. The dialogue is banal. The direction is horrible. The characters are idiots. It's embarrassing. I suppose if I'd watched to the end there would have been a explanation and a pay-off (doubt it) but I was decided I'd rather paint my bathroom and watch the paint dry for more entertainment. Lionsgate usually distributes some pretty good films but this one is just terrible.

Agreeing to accompany a professor to a cabin in the woods for a psychology experiment, a group of students find themselves stranded with a savage killer knocking them off one-by-one, forcing them to try to get away alive.

Pretty much standard issue slasher fare here, not that it's a bad thing by any stretch and actually has some solid points to it. The atmosphere, with it's wintery woodland setting out in the middle of nowhere, the growing realization of what's going on and the different traps create a pretty nice set-up here, and then the fact that the killer tends to show up whenever it's necessary to off someone makes for some really enjoyable moments as well. The pace is great and the kills are outstanding, so it's got a lot going for it even though there's a few flaws. The final twist reveal is a total cheat and really works against the film, the characters' actions are plain idiotic, and the cheapness does shine through on occasion. Otherwise, this one's pretty fun.

Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence, Nudity and a sex scene.

Although most here, would rather it be: can't see you. But we saw it (don't know about you dear reader, maybe you wanna check on in, and decide if you want to watch it). Let me tell you though that this tries very hard to be clever. You would guess so, with the characters studying Psychology and all.

And the fact that they just behave like your average teenager (from a horror film), just goes to show you how bad ... our school system in general is! Seriously though: Of course there is more happening than usual (remember: it tries so hard!), but this only makes the whole thing more ridiculous.

If you sit through the end, you have watched a few good scenes. But you will also see something that is completely wrong ...

This movie is so bad I don't even want to joke about it. The only Raison d'être of this review is warn people to stay far away from "Silent Scream". For a friend of mine it's already too late, as he blind-bought this rubbish on DVD, but you can still be saved if you just manage resist the promising-looking cover image and the pictures of ravishing girls on the back of the box. "Silent Scream" is as bad as low-budget teen horror gets, with a plot that gets more retarded with each minute that passes, the dumbest characters in history (even though they're supposed to be psychology students) and dialogs so painful they make your ears cringe. One could state that the body count is remarkably higher than usually the case in slasher films, but even then, the murder sequences are totally uninspired and the complete lack of continuity and/or a plausible plot is simply intolerable. In order to thank the entire class for helping with his dreams-manipulation research, a weak-acting psychology professor rewards them with the keys of his vacation resort on a snowy Michigan island. The first part of the group arrives and have some mindless sex and too much tequila before getting slaughtered the exact same night by an individual wearing a hooded winter jacket. The second group arrives the day after and teams up with the last two survivors of group one. Unfortunately they offer a little more resistance to the killer and even come close to escaping the island. Then comes the hopelessly predictable and imbecile twist-in-the-end. The script is just a non-stop series of stupidities, dire clichés and insufferable stereotypes. The empty-headed characters say the dumbest things at the most inappropriate moments and, as if that wasn't bad enough already, they constantly repeat themselves as well. Especially the male lead Mark is a pitiable character, as he keeps nagging to his ex-girlfriend that he still loves her even though they're being chased by a maniac holding an axe. All the girls are great eye-candy (except for Melissa Schuman who tries to act too much like Sarah Michelle Gellar) and some of them even show their ravishing flesh, but they're just too stupid and obnoxious to be likable characters. "Silent Scream" is boring, irritating as hell, ugly to look at, poorly directed and completely unoriginal. Next time you pick it up in a shop or videostore, just put it back.

A group of college kids volunteers for a weekend retreat to help their psychology professor with his research and soon find themselves fighting for their lives against a mysterious hooded killer who's picking them off one by one."The Retreat",which is also known under the title "Silent Scream" is an unoriginal slasher flick shot in the woods of Michigan.The acting is horrible,the action moves at snail's pace and the direction is bad.However there is a decent amount of gore and some of the killings are suitably gruesome.The so-called plot twist at the end is utterly stupid.Give it a look,only if you are a rabid fan of slasher films-just remember that there are far better hack 'em up flicks out there.My very generous rating:4 out of 10.