Jack the Reaper

Jack the Reaper

Starring Tony Todd, Stacey Carino, Richardson Chery, Jemal Draco

Directed by Kimberly Seilhamer

Synopsis:
A group of typical teenage stereotypes are on a field trip where a mysterious man (Tony Todd) tells them the story of Railroad Jack, an evil spirit who kills people on the railroad.  On the way home, the bus crashes, and they awaken at night with no one else around, except for a mysterious carnival.  While most of them decide to go and have fun, except for one girl who remains on the bus.

While the kids are enjoying the carnival, they have no idea that Railroad Jack (Douglas Tait) is stalking them, killing them one by one.  But are they already dead?

Review:
I can't remember a single actor's name in the film, but thankfully they're stereotyped as well as "The Breakfast Club."  We got the stupid jock, his mild-mannered friend, his more sincere brother, the slut, the deaf girl (alright, that's kinda new), the fat kid, the emo, and the daddy-abused girl.  They all play to their roles well enough, but there's not really any of them you particularly care about.

The film begins as they're giving their backstories and get on the bus and...huh, Sally Kirkland is in this...going from an Oscar-nominated actress to this drivel is definitely a downgrade.  Anyway, they go to some train history museum and Tony Todd's character warns them of deaths on the railroad, thanks to Railroad Jack.  Todd gives another outstanding over-the-top performance for another low-budget film he has to do since he probably squandered his "Candyman" money from years earlier.

On the way home, the possible abused girl sees Jack on the road and causes the bus to crash, and when they wake up the driver and teacher are gone, and so is everyone else, except for a carnival.  Now for anyone with even a remote knowledge of horror films, you know what this means.  Anyway, it takes a while but Jack finally shows up and starts killing with a childlike glee that you can see in his non-eyes.  The character is pretty frightening for such a low budget film, so that has it going for it.

The ending is typical, and it reinforces what I felt the movie was the whole time, but I won't spoil it for you.  It's surprisingly enjoyable, a throwback to the '80s style horror.  Sure, you hate the characters, but you're oddly drawn to them as well.  Surprisingly decent.

P.S. I found the name of one of the actors, and in the film he plays a 17 year old, but is actually 34.  I find that funny.  Also it was directed by a female, something rare in the horror genre. And still not understanding how someone who's supposed to kill based on a railroad would use a carnival, but at least it was neat to see.

Summary:
While it's nowhere near the best horror out there, "Jack the Reaper" is an enjoyable film to see on a rainy day.

My Rating: C