User Reviews (14)

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  • Warning: Spoilers
    May Contain Spoilers

    01. Surfing can cause a cerebral aneurysm to burst with fatal results.

    02. Always take, without question, any drug a school doctor who barely knows you prescribes, even if they fail to explain what the medication is, what it is supposed to be for, and what its side effects might be.

    03. There are sections of NYC's Central Park reserved exclusively for the use of students from two, or at most three, elite private high schools. No litter is ever permitted in these sections.

    04. Students from elite high schools can't skateboard very well.

    05. School nurses wear loose fitting, dress silk blouses to work.

    06. If it has been at least four months since the sudden death of your wife, it's fine to leap into a torrid affair with the school nurse to give your daughter a new mother.

    07. Published, highly respected and successful authors can be completely unobservant, rock stupid morons.

    08. Every private high school is required by law to have at least one "Chloe."

    09. Gardens are sometimes, "closed for renovations."

    10. Teenagers who use the word "devirginized" are at very high risk for apparent suicide.

    11. To help deal with an alcoholic mother who will allow you to be ritually sacrificed, school counselors recommend decorating your room to show your individuality.

    12. To show their individuality, some teenagers decorate their rooms with discordant, ugly pink, white and silver wallpaper but don't hang any pictures, posters or anything else on the walls.

    13. When starting at a new school, it's perfectly normal for various members of the faculty and administration to be popping in and out of your home, (and bedrooms), at any hour and without notice. If you call this behavior intrusive or creepy, you will be accused of being "hostile."

    14. Some high schools have wooden lockers.

    15. If you bump into the ghosts of two girls of about the same age, height, build and clothing in a wooden locker room, give them directions to The Shining (1980), because they are entirely superfluous where they are.

    16. If you require the blood of virgin girls to maintain your book club, and you run a girl's school, always select your victims from among your students instead of sacrificing those with whom you have no connection. Multiple student deaths actually enhance a school's reputation and would never cause the slightest suspicion.

    17. A school can have the same ageless faculty and staff for more than a century without causing undue comment.

    18. People who give blue dresses as gifts are probably planning to sacrifice the recipient.

    19. Girls should lose their virginity as young as possible to minimize the risk of being sacrificed by quasi-vampire Stepford wives who drink red tea.

    20. Quasi-vampires can be killed by stabbing them in the chest with a metal dagger, at which point they turn ashen gray and evaporate in a swirl of CGI, hence they are conveniently self-cleaning.

    21. If you kill one quasi-vampire, the rest of the book club members will evaporate as well. They must be connected in series.

    XYZ
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I found this DVD at the dollar store, and thought it might be entertaining. I wasn't expecting great cinema, but I figured at worst it might be hilariously bad and thus still somewhat enjoyable. Sadly, it wasn't trashily bad enough to be much fun. If you want to watch it unspoiled, you can stream it free on Tubi, if not here's a rundown of the plot. Beckett's mom dies in the first scene and she and her author dad move to Manhattan hoping a change of scenery will help ease their grief. Beckett's promptly enrolled in a fancy private school which has a faculty made up of only gorgeous women. She befriends Toby, the son of her dad's editor who is clearly there to be her romantic interest, and Jen, a bit of a misfit with an alcoholic mom. Beckett has visions of blood and hears mysterious whispers on her first day of school. Then one of her new classmates commits suicide. Her dad wants to pull her out of school, but Beckett decides to tough it out. The very pretty school nurse takes a sympathetic interest in Beckett and sets up counselling with the school shrink. She then takes a romantic interest in Beckett's dad, and moves in with them. She tries to win over Beckett by giving her an expensive dress and warning her against premarital sex. Beckett starts to suspect something weird is going on, especially when more students turn up dead. Beckett is proven right when it turns out that all the pretty faculty, and one snotty student, are incarnations of Lamia, who must kill and drink the blood of virgins to stay young and beautiful forever. Which has been going on for more than a century, though apparently nobody has noticed that the school's staff doesn't age. Or that a lot of the virginal students end up dead. However Beckett ends up not being killed because she ignored the nurse's warning and had sex with Toby. She kills the nurse, which conveniently kills the rest of the pretty faculty too. And Jen's mom, who was a neglectful alcoholic because she felt guilty that she was planning to sacrifice her virgin daughter. Most of the acting was pretty good, and it was well shot. Technically speaking it's a well made movie. Yet it dragged a lot in places, despite only being about 90 minutes long. Frankly, despite a few eerie moments and a few deaths it was a bit dull. I appreciated that there wasn't really any gore, but a few more scary moments would have helped. Also, it's kind of odd that one of the messages of the film seems to be that teen sex is necessary for survival.
  • This film passed a rainy Sunday afternoon. I have to admit my attention wavered a few times resulting in having to rewind on a couple of occasions. I've seen worse films but the horror was woefully lacking. Some great actors in this who were a bit wasted on the story. If you want to see Kelly Reilly at her best I recommend you ditch this film and watch Eden Lake. Reilly's sometimes breathless over acting is so much more appropriate to the film Eden Lake and she puts in an "Edge of your seat" performance. Innocence? An ok film but distinctly lacking in something.
  • Absolutely terrible, the acting is lazy, it's as if everyone is on valium, they tried to put a few jump scares in to keep you interested, which doesn't really work, and the grand finale wasn't grand, was over before it started.

    I wasn't expecting much and that's exactly what I got.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    The film centers on Beckett Warner (Sophie Curtis) whose mother (Kelly Bensimon) dies in the first scene in what appears like she went surfing without knowing how to swim. Later on we discover it was an aneurysm. Because mom dies, dad opts to move them from the country to the safe confines of the big city. Dad (Linus Roache) is the famous author Miles Warner, the most misused occupation in horror films outside of high school janitor. Miles scores a pad from his publisher (Stephanie March) who has a son Toby (Graham Phillips) who gives Beckett skate board lessons that never tie into the film due to poor script writing.

    Beckett goes to the prestigious private Hamilton school where all the teachers look young and making me wish I hadn't read the DVD cover about the film and watched it cold. TMI. On her first day she hears whispers in the off limits garden, hallucinates seeing blood, becomes faint, and watches a girl (Chloe Levine) do a swan dive off the roof. Dad wants to pull her out of school, but Beckett doesn't want to "run away." Beckett befriends Jen (Sarah Sutherland) a girl in a plain skirt as opposed to plaid. Meanwhile Pamela Hamilton (Kelly Reilly) the school's owner, is an overpowering redhead who finds her way into her home and dad's bed.

    I think you can guess the rest of the film. I know I managed to guess the entire film from the DVD cover except for the poorly developed lead character and lame soundtrack. The film feels like a "made for TV" production, not daring to be creative. Sophie Curtis deadpan acting reminded me of she who which we do not speak from that sparkling vampire film.

    Guide: No F-bombs that I recall. Implied sex. No nudity.
  • Bad acting. Bad, sometimes nonsensical dialogue, boring and predictable plot, and some of the worst writing I've ever witnessed on screen. I wouldn't wish this film on my worst enemy. It's no wonder the director only has 4 movies under her belt. Stay away from this film if you value your time!

    First off, you'll have no idea where this movie is going until it's nearly half way over, and then they slap you with the "story" which pretty much makes the movie's plot feel as though it changed 180 degrees. Up until this point, if you're still awake, you'll be bored to death with layers of irrelevant scenes mostly associated with teenage drama.

    Oh, and this movie tries, but miserably fails, to be "artsy" in its direction at certain points. This kind of thing might please the college coffee shop crowd, but it doesn't make a good movie. The only way I can see anyone enjoying this movie is if they are the type of person who flat out hates popular, big budget movies, and exclusively enjoys crappy movies for the sake of being "different."

    If you feel like wasting your time, then this movie is for you!
  • Sleepin_Dragon20 August 2020
    Suggested as a thriller, it's about as thrilling as a Victoria sponge, agonisingly slow with a truly ridiculous ending that truly sums up thrillers made over the last decade, dire.

    Just Dave yourself the agony, I truly recommend you watching an episode of Murder she wrote instead of this, at least they're entertaining and contain a degree of mystery.

    I love Kelly Reilly, but she is totally wasted, a role I'm sorry to say that is totally beneath her talents.

    Every cliche under the sun imaginable, join us...... No thanks, I'd rather clean the conservatory. 2/10.
  • I discovered this on Netflix two days ago, and realised that I had watched only a part of it, so I decided to give it a rewatch and finish the film.

    So far I can say that the movie does have potential in several areas - while the plot ideas may not be wholy original in concept, the way the film introduced those ideas could've been developed into something that may have potentially gotten some really good praise. A similar thing can be said for the casting; The actors and actresses I'd say are pretty good for a film like Innocence, and I think that that in itself opens up for more potential. Unfortunately though, the film is pretty flawed and has many aspects of it that hold it back from succession.

    The plot progression felt extremely tacky and skittish - Bare in mind, there was some decently average (which average isn't bad, by the way) progression at the first 35 minutes of the movie, but then further on it was like as if the writer and director decided to rely the movie's storyline on being just filler (meaning material that has no value, that adds nothing worthwhile to the story) which unfortunately made the final sequence feel off and awkward. Furthermore, the structuring of the plot + transitioning between scenes and sequences also felt strange and poorly executed - There were a few scenes that were nicely paced and shot, but it was like as if those scenes were in an unnatural clash between the film's faster and weirdly shot moments. And then comes the character development: There were so many opportunities that the film missed out on when it came to character development (especially Pamela and Beckett), which made me so sad because Pamela and Beckett were two interesting characters that I thought the movie would develop on. Overall, the film left many gaps within it that made it feel unfufilling, which is heartbreaking because the film had so much potential that it carelessly left behind :(
  • The other reviewer of this movie sure is hung up on Twilight for some reason. This movie has a good plot, nice acting, and is short and sweet. I have no idea how the other reviewer attributed this movie to Twilight except for the cover and with a pretty girl on it. If you've seen Dario Argento's Susperia, then you will have a better idea of what this movie is about which has nothing to do with vampires. My only complainant would be that the movie moves along a little slowly but at less than 90 minutes, it doesn't drag on and on to boredom after you realize what's going on. With so much garbage horror movies out there these days, this movie is well worth a watch.
  • I enjoyed this film immensely. I had no preconceived ideas about it at all, which is usually the best way to approach a movie. Just pop Netflix on, sit back and be either disgusted, surprised or intrigued. For me, I am pleased to say, it was the last one. This film was very well done indeed and everyone had worked very hard to achieve this result. A blockbuster it wasn't, by any means, but I wasn't expecting one. The film was slow-paced, but that isn't always a bad thing. The subject matter of dark goings-on in a private girls' school did not call for a frenetic free-for-all. Even the young lead star moved very slowly through the story as though she were walking through treacle but it was a lovely performance. Indeed, all the cast was first class, apart from the father who came across as an unfeeling wimp. Maybe he was meant to play it that way. Whatever, he was outshone by the ladies, who treated us to some very welcome eye candy. I found the photography and lighting to be stunningly executed on nearly every shot. The suspense was sustained very well too. The special effects were very laudable considering the budget. Well done and thanks everyone and my good wishes in your future endeavours.
  • I think that this was a great display of effort. Great performances by Graham Phillips and Sarah Sutherland! I was also impressed by the work of director Hilary Brougher, one of my personal heroes. I think that though there is room for improvement in the this film I can tell that there was a great attempt made by the crew and especially the director. I can tell that the mistakes in the film were made most likely made during the editing process. I think that the composition is not quite up to par. Even so, I think that with a few changes and a little more experienced cast the experience of watching this movie would have been much improved.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I admit it. I'm a complete sucker for the supernatural horror genre. I love fully engrossing myself in the wake of these ghost and demonic stories. Even though this is the one genre that has me leaving my turtle night light on at night, I can't help myself but watching every single film I can, relating to the supernatural. So I was pleasantly surprised to see a slow burning horror film from writer-director Hilary Brougher give us a unique take on this particular variety of film. Based off of Jane Mendelsohn's novel of the same name and with the help of writer Tristine Skyler, Brougher and Skyler deliver some very creepy moments, despite an over-the-top third act in this horror-drama genre film called 'Innocence'.

    The film opens up with a teenage girl named Becekett (Sophie Curtis) and her mother are surfing off Long Island, when her mother tragically drowns. We cut to four months later as her father Miles (Linus Roache), a successful writer has moved himself and Beckett to Manhattan to start over and move on from their recent tragedy. Miles enrolls Beckett into a luxury, exclusive prep school where she is welcomed by family friend Natalie (Stephanie March) and her son Tobey (Graham Phillips). Beckett is looked after by the beautiful school nurse Pamela (Kelly Reilly) and soon enough refers a psychiatrist named Dr. Kent (Sarita Choudhury) for counseling sessions with Beckett and her father.

    At the same time, Pamela is quickly taking a liking to Beckett's father and eventually moves in. However, shortly after the death of Beckett's mother, Becket begins to see wicked and scary hallucinations that she can't explain, by seeing dead classmates, and evil entities. And when one of her new classmates commits suicide by jumping off the school's roof, Beckett begins to figure out that there is something much more sinister going on at her school between the female faculty and their students. You could say there are glaring similarities to 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'The Stepford Wives' here, but instead of focusing on the visual effects and horror of the situation, Brougher dives into the realistic tones of one teenage girl's coping with the death of her mother and dealing with the strange things that are happening around her, which is a nice and fresh area to explore.

    Brougher almost too much uses the blue palette color scheme to accent when Beckett is experiencing these frightening hallucinations, which plays on the nose of too many genre elements we've seen in numerous other films. Curtis does a decent job with the more veteran actors around her, although March, Reilly, and Roache can only go so far, as the script doesn't allow them them to really take a bite into their characters. 'Innocence' is one half drama and one half horror, and it seems like the filmmakers never owned either genre to the fullest it could have been, instead they skirted around each area with a slow suspense.

    This is not the horror film that will define a generation, but it will muster up some very creepy imagery that will linger for a few days.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    16-year-old Beckett Warner (a fine and appealing performance by Sophie Curtis) enrolls in an exclusive private school in the wake of her mother's sudden tragic death. Beckett discovers that several fetching female staff members are harboring a dark secret.

    Director Hilary Brougher relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, ably crafts an eerie and unsettling atmosphere, grounds the fantastic premise in a believable everyday reality, and generates a good deal of tension. Moreover, it's refreshing to see a horror movie of current vintage that eschews excessive gore in favor of putting more emphasis on mood and characters. The solid acting by the sturdy cast further keeps things humming: Kelly Reilly as sexy, but sinister nurse Pamela Hamilton, Linus Roache as Beckett's perplexed dad Miles, Graham Phillips as hunky nice guy Tobey Crawford, Sarah Sutherland as spunky gal pal Jen Dunham, Stephanie March as the frosty Natalie, Perrey Reeves as the alcoholic Ava, Liya Kebede as friendly principal Moira Neal, Sarita Choudhury as probing shrink Dr. Vera Kent, and Annie Q. as the snooty Chloe Murray. David Rush Morrison's sumptuous cinematography provides a pleasing polished look. the shivery score by tomandandy hits the shuddery spot. A nifty little fright film.
  • Innocence: Yet another girl starts at a new school and something spooky is going on. In this case it's an upscale Manhattan prep school, Hamilto, centuries old, exclusive. A girl jumps off a school building almost hitting Beckett, the new girl. There is an odd atmosphere, in the classrooms, the corridors, some Hamilton old girls (including teachers) have a creepy book club. Beckett investigates and finds that another two girls have committed suicide. There is a nest of Vampires in the school! This tale unfolds slowly and while a nice broody, Gothic atmosphere builds up it is overlong. Interesting Vampire action without the overuse of special effects but this might have worked better as an episode of an anthology series. Directed/Co-written by Hilary Brougher. On Netflix. 6/10.