Cut (2000)

Decent Little Aussie Slasher Flick

Being Australian I can tell you honestly that I really do not like most of the films made here. Especially when it comes to attempts at horror films.

This was on TV tonight, and I was ready to put a DVD on, when this started airing and said it was a horror movie. I figured it might be OK so I started to watch it. I rolled my eyes and reached for the remote when I saw it was an Australian made film.

However, I thought the blond on screen looked pretty cute, and was watching it for the first few minutes for reasons other then caring what the movie was about. Then Kylie Minogoue shows up on screen and I nearly barfed every where. I was about to turn it off and start watching something else, when all of a sudden Kylie's character is killed. And it brought a smile to my face, so I figured I would give this movie the benefit of the doubt and watch it a bit more, cause there would be no more damn Kylie in the film.

By the time the thing was finished, I thought, there where things I did not like in the movie, but overall, I thought it was OK, and beleive me, I don't give generous reviews to a lot of Australian movies cause of the absolute garbage they produce here and get praised for it like it's a masterpiece of independent film making that shows Australia can produce terrific films, but always seem to have stereo type accents, a tin shed and muscle car out in the middle of no where.

The plot to this movie is 12 years ago from the date this was supposed to be set, a film was being made called Blood Shed or something. The director is killed (Kylie, YEAH, YEAH, SLASH HER) and the film is never finished.

12 years later, the daughter and her friends from film school buy the rights to finish the film. Only to discover the curse is true, and the killer is back.

In all honesty, it kept me watching, but I did not like the main killer guy being so much of a rip off of Jason Voorhees and Michael Myers combined, however, they did have a pretty good and simple look for him that I think works well... however, if they where going for the rip off of Jason and Michael, they should have kept this killers mouth shut. When he speaks, it just does not seem right, his accent should be that of a demon or something evil if he is going to speak, not sound like someone auditioning for play school.

I had to laugh when I saw Stephen Curry in this, I killed myself laughing when he was on screen trying to look serious, and all I could do was laugh and say, "He's in a horror movie, bwuahahahahaha" cough, anyway..It was one of those movies that really did get better by the ending, and in the final scenes, I even forgot I was watching an Aussie movie and was just into the action of it all. Just too bad whats-her-face didn't get taken out by the B-Grade poop head when he douses her in gasoline. She became more annoying as the film went on, and ya really wanna see her killed off, but oh well, at least Kylie was killed early enough in the film for me to keep watching, cause if she was in any more of the film i'd have turned the whole thing off in disgust, so thumbs up for showing our fantasies on film :D







June 20, 2008

This Cut badly needs stitches.

Before I rented this movie I knew it wasnt going to be anything special. I was however expecting this film to be at least watchable. This is without a doubt one of the worst pieces of garbage I have ever seen in my entire life. Again like usuall cheap teen slashers its the same thing all over again(the thing was this was even worse). A killer stalks actors of a low budget horror film. While they make this film each of the actors are killed one by one. I have never seen such bad acting before. But the thing that really got on my nerves about this film is the actual story. The film the actors are making is cursed? And then it leads to the most rediculous ending I had ever seen showing nothing but stupidity. I was thinking that this had to be a joke. But this didnt even make me laugh. This is the one film that shows to us just how BAD a movie can actually get. March 23, 2006

Put a band-aid on this Cut

For Kylie Minogue fans, I just want point out that she is only in two scenes at the beginning of the film. CUT features one of the dreaded downfalls of many a slasher film: characters you want to see die within the first ten minutes. Raffy and Hester are two obnoxious and pushy film students who want to take up the task of finishing a supposedly cursed horror film called HOT BLOODED which was cut short (no pun intended) due to the murder of the director of said film. Alas, as though we did not expect it, the curse will follow the film. What CUT consists of as a film is cliche after cliche with elements we have all seen before. The identity of the killer is beyond ridiculous and any attemps at red herrings before the killer is revealed are just poorly done. What CUT does have going for it are some good special effects, what few there are, and some funny moments, but not enough to save it. As the film has several elements which could have been used to good effect for a parody, they should have gone that route, but they take themselves too seriously and the ridiculous and overly basic plot brings it down that much further. I basically forced myself to finish this, as I wasted my money, and was happy when it was over; not to mention that I was sorely disappointed that Kylie Minogue was in only two scenes. If you enjoy crappy movies, you may get a kick out of this, but, if you are looking for anything more, you won't find it here.--Bob November 27, 2005

Derivative--but ain't they all?

Every time I watch a film like "Cut," I wonder why I feel the need to watch every horror film I can lay my hands upon. Why, I ask, would anyone subject themselves to such a derivative picture as "Cut"? What purpose does such a thing serve? Am I trying to punish myself for some ancient, unremembered sin? A few minutes later, I start shifting the blame to the filmmakers. Why, I ponder, does a director feel the need to release a film that essentially rips off "Scream"? Did they really think obtaining the services of one time '80s star Molly Ringwald would secure them an audience in the United States? Don't they realize this actress's best days on these shores are long gone? None of these questions have any adequate, let alone satisfactory, answers. Perhaps it should suffice to state simply that films like "Cut" arrive in the U.S. market because rental stores need product to fill gaps on the shelves. Or maybe someone really thought that making "Cut" was an original idea. No, scratch that. Even though this movie came from Down Under, the people responsible for this boring slasher film had to know that they were making something completely unoriginal. They had to, right? RIGHT?!?

The plot: A bunch of low budget filmmakers studying their trade at a university learn from their instructor, who just happened to work on the project back in the day, that an unfinished horror movie called "Hot Blooded" carries a most peculiar curse. The original director perished at the hands of a disgruntled co-worker, and ever since then anyone attempting to finish the film suffers a similar fate. Being inquisitive, bold filmmakers, the kids in his class take a vote and decide to try and finish the film. They even go so far as to acquire the rights and the completed reels from an elderly woman who, predictably, issues dire warnings that go unheeded. They also procure the services of the original star of the film, the pampered and egotistical Vanessa Turnbill (Molly Ringwald), to pick up where she left off. With nothing but a dream and a few minor, uninteresting subplots, the young filmmakers head out to the original remote location to shoot their film. And wouldn't you know it? Before you can say, "that's a wrap" the crew starts dying off in particularly violent ways. The killer goes around wearing the garb of the villain in the film, just as he did when the murders first started all those years ago, and the movie lets us know right from the start that anyone and everyone could be the one behind the mask.

A killer clad in black, a bunch of red herrings, and plot twists and turns all point to the possibility that "Cut" may well fall within the parameters of an Italian giallo film. If only we could be that lucky. What we have here is your standard, by the numbers slasher film. Problems of metaphysical dimensions abound in this film. First, you've got a cast so big it could fill out the crowd scenes in a Cecil B. DeMille epic. There is the director Raffy Carruthers (Jessica Napier), the producer Hester Ryan (Sarah Kants), the cinematographer Damien Ogle (Sam Lewis), sound guy Rick Stephens (Stephen Curry), wardrobe chick Cassie Woolf (Erika Walters), boom operator Paulie Morrelli (Matt Russell), electrician Jim Pilonski (Steve Greig), and make up artist Julie Bardot (Cathy Adanek). Guess what happens when you have this many characters in a quickie slasher film? Yep, you guessed right; we spend so much time trying to remember who is who and what they are doing that we lose track of the film. With so much cannon fodder milling around it's quite difficult to flesh them all out in a way that makes us care about them. We barely have time to learn someone's name before they fall under the murderous attacks of the killer. The script tries to engage by throwing us a few bones, namely the old relationship jealousies between a few of the characters, but none of it really matters. Or helps.

The only interesting aspect of "Cut" concerns Molly Ringwald. It's been decades since "Sixteen Candles" and "The Breakfast Club" swept over the country like a tidal wave, and the intervening years haven't been too kind to Molly. She continued to make films, mostly in Europe, after her career faded in the United States. Occasionally we see her in a made for television movie or even a series, but she has more or less gone the route of fellow brat packers Judd Nelson, Emilio Estevez, and Andrew McCarthy. I can say this about Molly Ringwald in "Cut": she's as attractive as ever, if not more so since she's a bit older these days. Unfortunately, her performance as the volatile Vanessa Turnbill hits new heights in histrionic overemoting. I'm not sure if the character called for ham handed acting or not, but Ringwald saw the part as an opportunity to go over the top and never come back to earth. Maybe she didn't like the script and just decided to throw caution to the wind with the part, or maybe she's lost the skills she once showed in her teen flicks, but her performance in "Cut" definitely comes in somewhere near the bottom of her filmography.

Trailers for "Cut," "Attraction," and "Blood Surf" are the only extras on the disc. "Cut" is a film that would probably appeal to slasher completists more than any other segment of the viewing public. If you like watching films with titles like "Slash," you'll find something to like here. Wait a minute, I like watching films with titles like "Slash" and I didn't find much to like here at all. Oh well, give it a shot if you simply must watch everything horror. Others would do well to give this one a pass.
January 7, 2005

BLOODY CUT

Filmed way down under in Southern Australia, this slasher flick has moments of suspense and surprise, but ultimately it fails to achieve what it probably wanted: to be an original, frightening slasher movie. Unfortunately, it's resolution of who the killer is far exceeds the bounds of credibility, even for a horror movie. Molly Ringwald chews up the scenery like a young Bette Davis or Tallulah Bankhead. While her performance is far less campy, she adds a kind of sophisticated stupidity to her role. Kylie Minogue has a brief part and like many pop singers should stick to singing. The direction is adequate, but doesn't fully approach the realm of terror it needs. The rest of the cast perform adequately, but as in most of the newer slasher flicks, the plot holes and ridiculous actions of the cast, prevent CUT from being more than just another entry in a dying genre. November 15, 2004

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