Let's start by saying that Crispin Glover, star of Simon Says, is the real deal. He is a very accomplished actor with any number of successful cinematic notches to his credit. Then there is Simon Says.
I'm not especially taken with slasher films. They generally opt for the easy way out, cheap shocks instead of hard-earned scares. Even the good ones. Is Simon Says a good one? Well, to be fair is a long way from being the worst.
The plot is predictable. A group of 5 young adults go gold panning in the woods and run into deranged and hostile locals. Breasts and sex are mandatory. Despite the lack of plot originality there are occasions of humour that are actually funny.
Plot is pretty dispensable in this type of film. It's not what happens in terms of narrative but rather how creative the deaths can be that matters. A CD ejecting from a corpses mouth to appropriate sound effects is fairly creative I suppose.
William Dear who directed and wrote Simon Says seems to be paying homage to 80s slashers and in this he pretty much succeeds. If you liked The Forest or Cheerleader Camp you will like this. The killing and dismemberment start at only about 18 minutes in!
A lot of relevant history is covered during the credits so don't skip them. The foundational premise is that twins are intrinsically evil. When you start looking there is enough of this type of movie to constitute a genre e.g. Seconds Apart, Sisters and Goodnight Mummy. There is a fair dollop of Hillbilly Horror thrown in as well. (The less said about accents the better.)
Production values are surprisingly good.
Unlike other horror films which occupy this stratum of the horror mine, Simon Says seems to have actually employed a camera rather than a phone in the production process. Many shots are well framed and staged, the pacing is quick, I mentioned the first death at about 18 minutes, but not to the point of creating incoherence.
Given the genre and context the acting is creditable except perhaps the over-the-top Crispin Glover but he brings his own charm to his extravagant portrayal. Kelly Vitz as Ashley is probably the weak link in the acting chops department. She gets disposed of fairly quickly.
The film ends with another group of young adults turning up at the site. I am unaware of a sequel but clearly the cycle starts over again. The 80s slasher is destined to never die, to reappear over, and over again, irrespective of the decade.
If slashers are your particular peccadillo, you will find Simon Says' 87 minutes well spent.
I'm not especially taken with slasher films. They generally opt for the easy way out, cheap shocks instead of hard-earned scares. Even the good ones. Is Simon Says a good one? Well, to be fair is a long way from being the worst.
The plot is predictable. A group of 5 young adults go gold panning in the woods and run into deranged and hostile locals. Breasts and sex are mandatory. Despite the lack of plot originality there are occasions of humour that are actually funny.
Plot is pretty dispensable in this type of film. It's not what happens in terms of narrative but rather how creative the deaths can be that matters. A CD ejecting from a corpses mouth to appropriate sound effects is fairly creative I suppose.
William Dear who directed and wrote Simon Says seems to be paying homage to 80s slashers and in this he pretty much succeeds. If you liked The Forest or Cheerleader Camp you will like this. The killing and dismemberment start at only about 18 minutes in!
A lot of relevant history is covered during the credits so don't skip them. The foundational premise is that twins are intrinsically evil. When you start looking there is enough of this type of movie to constitute a genre e.g. Seconds Apart, Sisters and Goodnight Mummy. There is a fair dollop of Hillbilly Horror thrown in as well. (The less said about accents the better.)
Production values are surprisingly good.
Unlike other horror films which occupy this stratum of the horror mine, Simon Says seems to have actually employed a camera rather than a phone in the production process. Many shots are well framed and staged, the pacing is quick, I mentioned the first death at about 18 minutes, but not to the point of creating incoherence.
Given the genre and context the acting is creditable except perhaps the over-the-top Crispin Glover but he brings his own charm to his extravagant portrayal. Kelly Vitz as Ashley is probably the weak link in the acting chops department. She gets disposed of fairly quickly.
The film ends with another group of young adults turning up at the site. I am unaware of a sequel but clearly the cycle starts over again. The 80s slasher is destined to never die, to reappear over, and over again, irrespective of the decade.
If slashers are your particular peccadillo, you will find Simon Says' 87 minutes well spent.