Perhaps I'm overly critical of this film because I'm a retired teacher and school principal.
Story idea and potential -- great. With competent writers and a competent director, this could have been top notch. But instead there are just too many elements of the story that just don't work. The worst ignorance of school policies is when the police officer tells Lucas that he should get a lawyer. No, you don't even have an interview like this without the parent(s) being informed, and you tell such a thing to an adult (the parent(s)) with legal responsibility. And a principal doesn't just expel a student and tell him to go home. That is also worked through with parents. So that's an example of the terrible short cuts this film takes. It comes off as being written by amateurs. But I should also mention virtually all of the scenes between the teacher and his wife. Very poor.
Some complain that the teacher/victim here is boring. A bit. Just what I would expect from a guy who teaches literature to high school students. SO I won't fault Kent Osborne for his acting here. The other actors do their jobs...barely. Adequate at best.
The exception is Dylan Sprouse who plays the psychopathic student. I mentioned the film having one saving grace -- he's that saving grace. I'd never heard of him before, but his performance here knocked my socks off. Creepy to the max.
The other saving grace here...sort of...is that there is some suspense involved. The ending almost seems anticlimactic, however, and you keep wishing for just a little more...and why did it have to be so dark in the room where it all comes down? Didn't the school pay its electric bill?
Average at best...except for the acting by Dylan Sprouse.
Story idea and potential -- great. With competent writers and a competent director, this could have been top notch. But instead there are just too many elements of the story that just don't work. The worst ignorance of school policies is when the police officer tells Lucas that he should get a lawyer. No, you don't even have an interview like this without the parent(s) being informed, and you tell such a thing to an adult (the parent(s)) with legal responsibility. And a principal doesn't just expel a student and tell him to go home. That is also worked through with parents. So that's an example of the terrible short cuts this film takes. It comes off as being written by amateurs. But I should also mention virtually all of the scenes between the teacher and his wife. Very poor.
Some complain that the teacher/victim here is boring. A bit. Just what I would expect from a guy who teaches literature to high school students. SO I won't fault Kent Osborne for his acting here. The other actors do their jobs...barely. Adequate at best.
The exception is Dylan Sprouse who plays the psychopathic student. I mentioned the film having one saving grace -- he's that saving grace. I'd never heard of him before, but his performance here knocked my socks off. Creepy to the max.
The other saving grace here...sort of...is that there is some suspense involved. The ending almost seems anticlimactic, however, and you keep wishing for just a little more...and why did it have to be so dark in the room where it all comes down? Didn't the school pay its electric bill?
Average at best...except for the acting by Dylan Sprouse.