Amusement (film)

Last updated
Amusement
Amusement (film) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Simpson
Written byJake Wade Wall
Produced byNeal Edelstein
Mike Macari
Starring Keir O'Donnell
Katheryn Winnick
Laura Breckenridge
Jessica Lucas
CinematographyMark Garrett
Edited byChris Willingham
David Handman
Music by Marco Beltrami
Production
company
Distributed by Warner Home Video
Release dates
  • October 9, 2008 (2008-10-09)(Thailand)
  • January 20, 2009 (2009-01-20)(United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million
Box office$170,255 [1]

Amusement is a 2008 American anthology horror film directed by John Simpson and starring Keir O'Donnell, Katheryn Winnick, Laura Breckenridge and Jessica Lucas. The film went direct-to-video in January 2009. [2] It was the last film to be distributed by the original Picturehouse before their closure in 2008. [3]

Contents

Plot

Prologue

The film opens with yearbook photos of three girls, Tabitha Wright, Shelby Leds and Lisa Swan. Each girl proves to have great potential, as their senior superlatives respectively describe them as "Most Likely to be Famous", "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Most Likely to Shine." As well as the girls, the prologue introduces photos of an unnamed boy, and clippings of a psychological profile which describe him as "extremely dangerous."

Shelby

While on the highway, Shelby and her boyfriend Rob Alerbe pull over for gas, joined by a semi-truck and a Jeep. At the gas station, Shelby sees a frightened woman in the truck's back window, though Rob does not see her and tells Shelby that the trucker said he was driving alone. On the road, the same woman jumps from the truck and lands on their car. The truck continues onward as Shelby, Rob, and the driver of the Jeep stop to help the woman. Rob then drives after the truck to get its plates, but fails to catch up and returns only to discover the Jeep driver injured, and Shelby and the woman missing. The Jeep driver says the trucker took them, and they take the Jeep to an old, isolated house. The Jeep driver goes alone to the front door, where he overhears the trucker talking on the phone, claiming he is the woman's father and that he was taking her to a rehabilitation facility for a drug addiction. Meanwhile, in the Jeep, Rob discovers Shelby and the woman under a tarp in the backseat, bound and gagged. The Jeep driver kills the trucker when he goes out and then approaches the Jeep. Rob locks the door and tries to drive away, only to discover that the keys are missing. The Jeep driver then breaks open the window with his sledgehammer and kills Rob.

Tabitha

Elsewhere, Tabitha is spending the night at her aunt's house to babysit her cousins, Max and Danny. She finds out that their babysitter, June, had already left, though she was supposed to wait for Tabitha to arrive before leaving. Later that evening, a man claiming to be June's boyfriend, Owen, arrives looking for her since she missed cheerleading practice. He leaves when Tabitha tells him she does not know where June is. While exploring the house, Tabitha finds the guest bedroom decorated with clown toys, and becomes particularly scared of a life-sized clown doll sitting on the rocking chair. She later talks with her aunt about the life-sized doll, but is told that the family has no such a doll. Tabitha and the boys are then attacked by the clown, who the boys insist is Owen. Tabitha helps the boys escape before hiding in the shed. Inside, she opens the closet and finds June's corpse. The clown enters the room, his laughter similar to the Jeep driver's.

Lisa

Sometime earlier, Lisa Swan and her boyfriend Dan begin searching for her roommate Cat, who had disappeared during a party the night before. They go to an old hotel that Cat said she will be at. Lisa tries to get in, but the caretaker, a man whose face is covered by a face mask, refuses to let her in. She convinces Dan to pose as a health inspector and look inside. After letting him in, the caretaker shows Dan a music player and encourages him to play it, claiming there is a surprise in the end. Dan does so, and at the end of the song, a knife flies out of the speaker, stabbing him in the eye. Unable to get in contact with Dan, Lisa sneaks into the house and meets an apparently deaf man, who leads her to a room filled with beds that have dead bodies stuffed into the mattresses. Lisa finds Cat stuffed alive in one mattress, but as she attempts to free Cat, the deaf man attacks her, revealing himself to be the killer.

The Briar Hills Connection

In a police interrogation room, Tabitha is revealed to be alive and in shock. When she does not answer the interrogator's questions, he leaves her alone. Tabitha then reminisces about her childhood, where she, Shelby, and Lisa were once all friends at Briar Hills Elementary School. After they were tasked to design miniature sets inside shoeboxes that can be viewed through peepholes, a male classmate - the unnamed poor boy from the prologue - demanded to see their work before showing his to Tabitha; it was of a rat chained up and its skin pulled back to reveal its organs. It becomes clear that the boy is insane. Tabitha is then interrogated by a therapist who asks her about Shelby and Lisa. When Tabitha says that they were all friends at Briar Hills Elementary, but have not seen each other for years, the therapist remembers a patient she once had who was from Briar Hills. Then, she comes to a realization and informs Tabitha that Lisa and Shelby are also here, before leaving to find a phone that works. Tabitha wanders out after her and discovers that she is not in a police station. She finds the therapist dead and sees the police interrogator, who was the killer all along, approaching.

Tabitha flees to the basement, where she finds herself trapped between two glass walls. Beyond either side, she finds Shelby and Lisa, bound and gagged and their skin pulled back similar to the rat in the boy's shoebox. The killer initially taunts them, but then reveals that the two are unharmed, and that their opened skin is just a trick. Just as the man is about to kill Shelby, Tabitha pretends to laugh, prompting him to open the glass wall and approach her. Tabitha then stabs him in the neck with a scalpel she had grabbed and unties her friends. As they try to escape, Lisa and Shelby are killed, while Tabitha climbs a ladder that leads to a barn shed. She hides in a room with props used to kidnap the three women. The killer surprises her as he looks through a peephole, and reveals that she is in the back of a truck, which is by the same old house where Rob died. After he drives a short distance, the truck stalls. Tabitha takes hold a spiked weapon and, when he returns to look through the peephole again, stabs him through the face, killing him.

Tabitha restarts the truck and drives away, narrating about how she and her friends had laughed at the killer when they were young, thinking that he was a joke. After he was sent away, they had forgotten all about him, but he never forgot them. She then remarks that even though it was all over, she still cannot get his laugh out of her head.

Cast

Production

The film was produced by Macari/Edelstein, New Line Cinema and Picturehouse Entertainment.

Release

Amusement was originally slated to hit theaters in January 2008, but was pushed back to April 25 and then again to September 12. It was pushed back once more to December 26, 2008, but Warner Bros. ultimately decided to release it direct-to-video on January 20, 2009. [4] It was released on DVD in Australia on February 5, 2009 [5] and on March 23, 2009 in the United Kingdom.

Reception

Bloody-Disgusting.com, who viewed an early screening of the film, called it "disastrous". [6] Andrew Smith from Popcorn Pictures.com awarded Amusement a score of two out of ten. In his review, Smith noted that although the film had high production values and was reasonably acted; its incomprehensible script and incompetent characters were behind the film's poor quality. [7] Sarah Law from GorePress.com criticised the film's bland direction, lack of scares, incoherent story, and dreadful script. [8]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jeepers Creepers</i> (2001 film) Film by Victor Salva

Jeepers Creepers is a 2001 horror film written and directed by Victor Salva. It stars Gina Philips and Justin Long as Trish and Darry Jenner, two siblings in college who are pursued by a violent truck driver portrayed by Jonathan Breck. The film takes its name from the 1938 song of the same name, which is featured in the film under a version by Paul Whiteman. Patricia Belcher and Eileen Brennan also appear in supporting roles, with Salva making a cameo appearance.

<i>The Killers</i> (1964 film) 1964 film by Don Siegel

The Killers is a 1964 American neo noir crime film. Written by Gene L. Coon and directed by Don Siegel, it is the second Hollywood adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's 1927 short story of the same name, following the 1946 version.

"Homer vs. Dignity" is the fifth episode of the twelfth season of the American animated television series The Simpsons. It first aired on the Fox network in the United States on November 26, 2000. In the episode, Mr. Burns hires a cash-strapped Homer as his "prank monkey", paying him to play pranks on others and humiliate himself in public.

<i>Nightmares</i> (1983 film) 1983 film directed by Joseph Sargent

Nightmares is a 1983 American horror anthology film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Emilio Estevez, Lance Henriksen, Cristina Raines, Veronica Cartwright, and Richard Masur. The film is made up of four short films based on urban legends; the first concerns a woman who encounters a killer in the backseat of her car; the second concerns a video game-addicted teenager who is consumed by his game; the third focuses on a fallen priest who is stalked by a pickup truck from hell; and the last follows a suburban family battling a giant rat in their home.

<i>Tabitha</i> (TV series) American fantasy sitcom, spin-off of Bewitched (1977–1978)

Tabitha is an American fantasy sitcom and a spin-off of Bewitched that aired on ABC from September 10, 1977, to January 14, 1978. The series starred Lisa Hartman in the title role as Tabitha Stephens, the witch daughter of Samantha and Darrin Stephens who was introduced on Bewitched during its second season.

<i>The Shadow of the Cat</i> 1961 British film by John Gilling

The Shadow of the Cat is a 1961 British horror film directed by John Gilling for Hammer Film Productions. It stars André Morell and Barbara Shelley. It was photographed in black-and-white by Arthur Grant. It was released in May 1961 on a double feature bill with Curse of the Werewolf.

<i>FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue</i> 1998 American film

FernGully 2: The Magical Rescue is a 1998 American animated fantasy adventure film. It is a direct-to-video sequel to FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992). It was produced by Wild Brain Productions and distributed by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment through the CBS/Fox Video Label. It was directed by Phil Robinson & Dave Marshall and written by Chris Fink and Richard Tulloch. None of the actors from the first movie reprise their roles, the film features a new voice cast, including Laura Erlich, Harry Joseph, Gary Martin, Matt K. Miller, Digory Oaks and Westin Peace.

The killer in the backseat is an urban legend from the United States and United Kingdom. It was first noted by folklorist Carlos Drake in 1968 in texts collected by Indiana University students.

<i>Next of Kin</i> (1989 film) 1989 film by John Irvin

Next of Kin is a 1989 American action thriller film directed by John Irvin and starring Patrick Swayze and Liam Neeson, with Adam Baldwin, Helen Hunt, Bill Paxton and Ben Stiller in one of his earliest roles. The screenplay was based on a story of the same title, both written by Michael Jenning.

<i>Killjoy</i> (2000 film) 2000 American fantasy slasher film

Killjoy is a 2000 American fantasy slasher film directed by Craig Ross, starring Ángel Vargas. It follows a young man who's murdered and seeks revenge through a killer demon clown named Killjoy. It is the first entry in the Killjoy franchise.

<i>Lady Killer</i> (1933 film) 1933 film by Roy Del Ruth

Lady Killer is a 1933 American pre-Code crime drama film starring James Cagney, Mae Clarke, and Margaret Lindsay, based on the story "The Finger Man" by Rosalind Keating Shaffer. The picture was directed by Roy Del Ruth.

<i>Decoy</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by Jack Bernhard

Decoy is a 1946 American film noir starring Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley, and Sheldon Leonard. Directed by Jack Bernhard, it was produced by him and Bernard Brandt as a Jack Bernhard Production, with a screenplay by Nedrick Young based on an original story by Stanley Rubin.

<i>Hush</i> (2008 film) 2008 British film

Hush is a 2008 British horror film about a young couple on a motorway journey who are drawn into a game of cat and mouse with a truck driver following a near accident. The film is directed by former BBC Radio 1 DJ, Mark Tonderai, and stars William Ash and Christine Bottomley. The film was produced by Warp X, UK Film Council and Film4 who supplied the funding for the film. The film was distributed by Optimum Releasing.

<i>Jeepers Creepers 3</i> 2017 horror film by Victor Salva

Jeepers Creepers 3 is a 2017 American horror film written and directed by Victor Salva and the third film in the Jeepers Creepers film series, taking place in between Jeepers Creepers and Jeepers Creepers 2. Jonathan Breck reprises his role as The Creeper. Gina Philips returns in a cameo as Trish Jenner, her first return to the series since the original film. The film was shown in theaters on September 26, 2017, in what was originally announced as a one-night-only showing and was then shown again on October 4.

<i>Killers</i> (2010 film) 2010 American film

Killers is a 2010 American action comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and starring Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher. The film centers on a young woman (Heigl) who meets the man of her dreams (Kutcher) who turns out to be an assassin. The film was theatrically released on June 4, 2010. It was panned by critics but grossed $98.2 million worldwide against its $75 million budget.

<i>Rage</i> (1966 film) 1966 film by Gilberto Gazcón

Rage is a 1966 Mexican-American drama neo noir thriller film and co-written and directed by Gilberto Gazcón and starring Glenn Ford and Stella Stevens in the last of their three films together and David Reynoso. The opening credits indicate the title of the film is 48 Ore Per Non Morire, which translated from Italian to English is "48 Hours Not To Die." Filming took place in Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of Sombrerete, Mexico.

<i>Fear of Clowns 2</i> 2007 film

Fear of Clowns 2 is a 2007 American horror film written and directed by Kevin Kangas. It is a sequel to Fear of Clowns (2004) and takes place two years after the events of the original and continues the story of a young woman getting stalked by a killer clown.

<i>Pinocchio</i> (2012 film) 2012 Italian film

Pinocchio is a 2012 Italian animated film directed by Enzo D'Alò. It is based on the 1883 novel The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. The film had a budget of about €8 million. It was screened out of competition at the 70th Venice International Film Festival.

<i>Nightmare in Chicago</i> American TV series or program

Nightmare in Chicago is a 1964 suspense thriller crime television film produced and directed by Robert Altman, based on the novel Death on the Turnpike by William P. McGivern. It was originally filmed as an episode of the NBC series Kraft Suspense Theatre titled "Once Upon a Savage Night" before being expanded into the TV movie.

<i>Night Terror</i> (film) 1973 television film by Philip Leacock

Night Terror is a 1977 American made-for-television horror thriller film directed by E.W. Swackhamer and starring Valerie Harper and Richard Romanus. Its plot follows a woman who, while traveling alone by car one night, is pursued by a psychopath after witnessing him commit a murder.

References

  1. ↑ "Amusement". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  2. ↑ David Harley (25 December 2009). "Best & Worst of 2009: David Harley Picks His Bottom 5!". BloodyDisgusting. Archived from the original on 26 December 2009. Retrieved 24 December 2009.
  3. ↑ Hayes, Dade; McNary, Dave (May 8, 2008). "Picturehouse, WIP close shop". Variety. Archived from the original on 2008-07-14. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  4. ↑ "News: Amusement (US - DVD R1 | BD RA)". DVDActive. Archived from the original on 2012-10-21. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
  5. ↑ "Sanity". Archived from the original on 2017-11-21. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  6. ↑ "You'll Have to Wait to Be Amused Until September". BloodyDisgusting. Archived from the original on 2008-07-30.
  7. ↑ Smith, Andrew. "Amusement (2008)". Popcorn Pictures.co.uk. Andrew Smith. Archived from the original on 16 June 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
  8. ↑ Law, Sarah. "Amusement « Gorepress". Gore Press.com. Sarah Law. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.