Written Review: Simon Says (2006)

Simon Says (2006)

Directed By:
William Dear

STARRING:
Crispin Glover
Margo Harshman
Greg Cipes
Carrie Finklea
Kelly Vitz
Blake Lively

Year:
2006

Genre:
Horror/Slasher

Final Score: 3/4


I think I've stated MANY times how awesome the independant horror scene has been these last 10 years. While mainstream horror has been going downhill fast since around 2001 with shitty remakes and torture porn crap, the independant scene has been making fun, enjoyable movies, and is where I can get my slasher fix. That being said, I was very much looking forward to "Simon Says", being that not only was it an independant slasher, but one that stars Crispin motherfucking Glover. So, does it live up to my expectations? Hell yes, it does!

PLOT- Five teenagers are spending vacation in the woods. They make a mistake by trusting a pair of sketchy twins named Simon and Stanley (both played by the awesome Crispin Glover), who recomend the cursed lakeside campsite. Things get a turn for the worse as they find out Simon and Stanley are psychopathic murderers, who proceed to pick them off one by one ina gory climax.

SCRIPT- The script isn't that bad really, which is surprising for a modern horror film. The dialogue isn't too bad, doesn't feel forced, and is, in parts, pretty funny (especially the stoner Zack's lines). Plus, alot of Crispin Glover's lines are really damn creepy, especially "I won't let Simon hurt you...after all, why should he have all the fun?" No problems at all with the script.

Acting- The acting in the movie is also very good for an independant slasher movie. The main lead, Margo Harshman, plays a good final girl, and can scream vey well. Artie Baxter plays a good asshole. Blake Lively was also decent as Jenny, but nothing special, really. The best of the teenagers was definately Greg Cipes as the stoner Zack. This dude was funny as shit, and I really enjoyed his performance, especially towards the end, where he shows really good emotion and makes his character very three-dimensional.
But the best actor, by far, was Crispin Glover as the psycho twins Stanley and Simon. This dude plays an awesome psychopath, and believingly plays dual roles very nicely. You can tell he's having a great time with this movie, and it really helps his performance.

Direction- William Dear's direction was pretty good. The film moved at a nice pace, never has any dull moments, and the editing was never uneven or choppy. I've never seen any of this guy's other work, but from what I've seen from this, he's not too shabby.

Wrap Up- Overall, "Simon Says" is a very enjoyable slasher movie, and is alot better than the crap we get in THEATRES nowadays. I'd much rather watch this than a fucking Saw sequel, that's for sure.