CHAIN LETTER (2010)

Directed By: Deon Taylor
Written By: Deon Taylor, Michael J. Pagan & Diana Erwin
Cinematography By: Philip Lee
Editor: James Coblentz

CAST: Nikki Reed, Keith David, Brad Douriff, Charles Fleisher, Michael J. Paghan, Matt Cohen, Noah Segan, Betsy Russell, Clifton Powell, Cherilyn Wilson



The only reason I really watched this is that I am a fan of actress Nikki Reed and I hope this is the last time that I have to be tortured watching a film that she appears in.

The film is about a group of friends who all receive chain letter’s on their phones and e-mail’s once they delete them they all end up being murdered.

Now the film had a good idea as only one of them receives the letter initially but since he thinks they are all making fun of him he sends them all the same letter essentially dooming them and at a certain point the character realizes that he has doomed his friends and sister to death sentences. That was the only moment of this film that I thought was well thought out the rest of the film is nothing but badly scripted characters and story.

This film is horrible through and through it just seems like a film that needed an excuse to show graphic killings and somehow link them with what the filmmakers hope is a iconic killer. The film ends up just being a nicely funded film filled with torture porn that believes itself to be clever with a mystery that lies at the heart of the film. Only that aspect is introduced halfway into the film. The murder scenes are not that thrilling and just seem to be outrageously cruel for no reason.

Not only do we not get to know the characters future victims but in the end there is no rhyme or reason fro why they die except for some stupid chain letter that in the end we find out didn’t really matter. It only gives us a reason for a demented killer who likes to use chains.

Now bad horror films can be fun and entertaining this one isn’t it’s ugly and mean spirited and frankly makes no sense though it has a good cast. One of the plot point they introduce is that this sixteen year old girl can figure out what is going on before a seasoned detective even get’s a clue. Then after we find out about this supposed huge conspiracy why is there only one killer? Sorry if I spoiled it but trust me it is not worth watching. This is one of the worst films I have ever seen. The director seems to think he and his film are impressive, I can’t imagine why. It takes a lot to mess us what should be essentially a slam dunk even if it’s not the best as a horror it will be added to genre fans libraries. This is a film most would be embarasssd to have. I can see why it only lasted in theaters for only a week. You have a capable cast and make them seem embarrassing. The deaths are needlessly grand and gory. By then end of the film nothing is really explained except part of the way the killer works. It leaves everything ambiguous like they expected a SAW like number of sequels. It’s a shame especially when you have so many respected actors in Supporting roles.

GRADE: F