The Haunting of Sorority Row

I was really surprised when I watched this movie and liked it! I've watched it a few times now and each time I love it even more.

Usually I don't watch Lifetime or any other television movies, but this one I was interested in, probably because I LOVE ghost stories and anything creepy.

The story was written well and I didn't expect the 'twist' at the end (maybe I wouldn't call it a twist, but a surprise, for sure!) If you are bored one night, watch this movie! I was actually a little creeped out the first time I watched it. The CGI is cheaply done (I never like special effects in horror movies and wasn't expecting anything great for a TV movie) but it isn't cheesy. Plus, this movie is better than some I've paid $10 to see at the movie theater.

I gave this film a 10 to balance out the people who left such horrid reviews, though I'd probably rate it an 8. I really enjoyed this film, and you will too if you don't expect to see "Insidious" or "Scream" or "A Nightmare on Elm Street." It's NOT a scary movie in that sense. Yes, it's a creepy and suspenseful film, but I wouldn't classify it as horror. Take the time to watch this, but don't expect to see any award winning original material.

Leighton and her director prove that you do not need tons of blood and gore to come up with a good scare. I won't give away any details on the plot, but I am a great fan of the genuine thriller genre, and this movie struck just the right tone with surprises, characters that you care about, and a few great effects. I think this would be appropriate for tweens and teens and they will enjoy it---finally a new scary movie that doesn't use chain saws. The plot and characters keep you guessing and move this story, and it is actually shot very beautifully. The acting is solid, especially Leighton is excellent, and nothing about this is overdone. Fun to watch! I will definitely keep this on my Halloween rotation.

Attending a new sorority, a new pledge discovers her terrifying visions and hallucinations are brought about by the return of a hazing ritual that killed a former initiate who is now haunting and killing them one- by-one.

This one turned out to be quite a decent Lifetime thriller. One of its better attributes is its engrossing mystery, which is far creepier than it has any right to be and is given plenty to work with. This one has some great parts during the beginning focusing on their visions of the coffin and the secretive nature of the previous ceremony, and when brought about with the nature of sorority and it's got a pretty decent time through the first half. This is really aided along by several really freaky moments where the ghost goes into action with it's death scenes, including a pretty harrowing sequence that's rarely seen in this kind of entries on the channel as well as a pretty chilling revelation of the ruse through the back-story and some wicked haunting scenes which give this a nice horror feel. There's still a few flaws here, mainly in the opening introductions to sorority life with the different rituals and traditions as well as the hazing portions coming off as really tame and traditional due to their being featuring in many different films, and when it focuses on the strained high-school romance is when the film's pacing lags considerably during these sections. In addition, the rather overblown CGI in the finale is out-of-place with the more naturalistic efforts of the rest of the film. These are the film's true flaws.

Rated Unrated/PG-13: Violence and Language.

This is another of those teen-age sorority flicks where the girls are so stupid you wonder how they ever got to college in the first place. It starts out looking as though it might be a good thriller, but the events involving the revenge of a dead spirit are so mindlessly foolish that you wonder how the script managed to find someone willing to produce it.

The acting is better than the story deserves but that's no compensation for a Halloween type of thriller that lacks common sense in the telling. Production is well mounted with slick camera work and an appropriately tingling background score, but the story seems padded to fit a two-hour TV schedule and it becomes a by-the-numbers sort of thing where you just have to wait patiently for something to happen. They do happen on cue and that's the whole trouble with the silly story. Nothing seems real and none of the explanations ring true.

My advice: skip it.

The movie did start off promising enough but quickly fell apart with it practically telegraphing, in a number of very obvious clues, to the audience who the killer is. I ended up figuring it out about half way through the story who the killer was. Do to this I was a bit bored and kept checking on the time that's left over of the film. It is an above average movie due to the actors and the story premise. But I wouldn't watch it again even if someone asked.