Reed's Point (2022, director:
Dale Fabrigar; script: Tricia Aurand, Suzanne DeLaurentiis,
Sandy Lo;
cast: Sasha Anne, Evan Adams, Joe Estevez, Madison
Ekstrand,
Anthony Jensen, Clint Carmichael, Catherine Healy)
Youth
is the most perilous time of life. None are more likely to die
than the young. Whenever I see a group of teens or
twentysomethings leaving for a party, or road trip, or camping
excursion, or foreign travel, I know that death lies ahead. Oh to
be old already!
Reed's Point opens with three recent high school grads
boarding a luxurious private bus owned by Kelsey's (Madison
Ekstrand) dad (Joe Estevez), who is giving the kids a lift.
They're driving through the New Jersey woods, an area allegedly
inhabited by the legendary
Jersey Devil.
Kelsey is the rich
girl in the group. Sarah (Sasha Anne) is Kelsey's poor cousin.
Sarah is the Good Girl, so her chances of survival are high. She
plans to be a journalism major in college, so we're supposed to
think she's smart. (Has she checked employment prospects for
journalism majors? Does anyone still hire journalism
majors?)
Alex (Evan Adams) is Kelsey's boyfriend. He too plans to be a
journalism major. (After graduation, he and Sarah can flip burgers
together.) Alex is a soft-spoken Nice Guy. Deferential to woman
and to their fathers. He's a sweet, meek little man. Well, not all
that little. Evan Adams is tall and muscular. Yet he plays wimpy
Alex, who is wary of men both older and weaker than himself. He's
been miscast and poorly directed. Not his fault.
So these three young people board rich dad's bus. An accident
occurs. A few brief shots establish that someone -- or
something?! -- attacked them. Sarah and Alex are the sole
survivors.
A year later, Sarah and Alex are journalism majors in college. Sarah
is certain that Kelsey is still alive somewhere in those woods.
Why? Just a feeling. Makes no sense. The police scoured those
woods but were unable to find Kelsey.
Sarah smells a scope!
She returns to the New Jersey woods, wimpy Alex in tow. Alex doesn't
believe his former girlfriend is alive, but Nice Guys always hover
about the Good Girl, ready to protect and serve.
Our two budding journalists gather information from the local Sassy
Diner Waitress (always the best source for small town secrets),
but foolishly ignore the warnings of the local Wise Homeless Man.
Instead, they hire the local Creepy Gun-Toting Redneck as their
guide through the forest.
Steve the Creepy Redneck (Anthony Jensen) has fun scaring the two
city college kids with tales of the
Jersey Devil. Alex falls down a hill and gets his leg stuck in
tree branches. Wimpy and useless. Steve returns to his
car for a saw and never comes back. Sarah goes looking for help.
(When alone in the woods at night, it's always a good idea to
split up.)
Sarah finds a lonely house in the woods, inhabited by a Creepy Nice
Guy (Clint Carmichael) with a huge
Jersey Devil collection. Then a bunch of other stuff happens.
Everyone -- Steve, Alex, Sarah, Kelsey, Sassy Diner Waitress
(Catherine Healy), the
Jersey Devil -- reunite, argue, split up, fight, escape, kill,
and die. (Not necessarily in that order.) Secrets are revealed.
Then more secrets are revealed. Who can one trust?
Reed's Point is an aggressively mediocre horror film. It has all
the elements used so many times before in previous horror films.
Young college kids. Rednecks with secrets. Monsters in the woods.
Stupid people wandering in the woods.
The acting ranges from serviceable to decent. The performances are
not amateur, but neither are they memorable or standout. The
production values are decent, despite some bloopers. (It's night
outside the bus's window, then bright daylight coming from another
window, then night again.) The gore is good.
Oh yes, about the
Jersey Devil. There's much talk in
Reed's Point about the legendary monster, but it doesn't appear
until the film's nearly over. Much build-up, little payoff. If the
Jersey Devil is your main reason for wanting to see
Reed's Point, you might be disappointed.
Some reviewers have complained that
Reed's Point is slow-moving and padded. It is that. It feels
longer than its 76 minutes. Hardcore horror fans might find it an
acceptable diversion if nothing else is available. But neither is
it a must-see. A bland but okay horror film.
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