Cruel World (2005)

Cruel World (2005) (see below for preview images)

Directed by Kelsey T. Howard
Written by Eugene (Gene) Hess, Paul Lawrence, Paul T. Murray
 
Starring: Edward Furlong, Daniel Franzese, Andrew Keegan, Susan Ward, Sanoe Lake, Laura Ramsey, Aimee Garcia, Joel Michaely, Nate Parker, Nicole Bilderback, Brian Geraghty, Jamie Pressly, Sam Page, William Sterchi, James Patrick Stewart, Paige Green, Troy Nealey
 
IMDb 3.9/10    Rotten Tomatoes 27% Freshness      Metacritic NO DATA
 
Okay, so, long and short of it is this:  A sloppy and desperate contestant gets booted off of a matchmaking reality similar to “The Bachelor” and such.  Wallowing in his humiliation and shame at being second horse to what he perceives to be the token thoroughbred musclebound hunk, he decides he’s going to create his own reality show in which to vent his anger, pain and frustrations.
 
First, he starts with the woman who rejected him on the show and the winning bachelor at her house, which our whack job rented (as the producer of his own reality series) for his set.  This being the case (and chicka and her new beau having signed off on it to take place during their vacation which they are leaving for that day), he technically has every legal right to be there.  Because of that, he helps himself to the grounds, eventually killing them both.
 
His contestants have been sought out by placing ads in college newspapers.  The selected participants are driven to the house and the games begin.  Every day they are given a new challenge.  One by one they are forced to take part in various competitions, some of which will determine their fate.  And once you are out of the game, you die.
 
All of the contestants think this is just like any other reality show but, they soon realize that they are in for the long haul and have to compete to stay alive.  Some of the competitions include hacking into a dead cow and carving out a meal to eat raw, getting locked in a coffin and having to free yourself, a swordfight to the death, walking balance beams with nooses around their necks…some really FUN stuff.
 
And psycho killer has a brother…a not well brother, who gets manipulated into helping carry out these dastardly deeds at the behest of his demented sibling.  
 
Anyways, people get killed, get arrested, get away.  
 
That’s about the gist of it.
 
THE END
 
Now, I told you that so I could tell you this…this movie could have been SO much better.  The potential is there, for crying out loud!!! The idea isn’t a bad one…reality show reject takes his revenge by casting and creating a reality show of his own where he is the puppet master pulling their strings.  Truly not bad, in theory.  I guess the application of it was something a little tougher than what the filmmakers could accomplish.  
 
I will say that the ratings online for this film are bad, bad and worse.  Nobody seems to be very forgiving of this film, though I’m not sure why.  I didn’t think it was THAT bad.  Here’s why:
 
First of all, it follows the basic formula.  The sex pots die, there’s chase scenes, attempts at creative murder, blood, psycho killer, etc.  Yes, there could have been better special effects and yes, the kills could have been more detailed BUT, as I’ve said before, that doesn’t mean it was horrible.  
 
My biggest complaint for why this particular movie blew the plot was that these poor contestants, they aren’t even the people he lost to.  Now, IF he had gathered all the contestants from the show HE WAS ON and get them back for a reunion season or something, THAT would have made more sense. But, to just arbitrarily pick contestants…it’s just not as much about revenge as it is killing and exerting will over others at that point.
 
I was actually a little shocked to see Edward Furlong look like that.  I had forgotten that aging in Hollywood wasn’t so kind to him.  I recognize that we all get meatier as we age out of our teen years but, ouch!  And that haircut isn’t doing his look any favors either.  He does, however, play the psycho with gusto.  I’m not saying he’s the best psycho out there but, he was adequate for the film.  
 
I can’t say that I would recommend this to ANYONE though, those that can appreciate B-rate horror will think it’s okay.
 
RATINGS
3/5 Stars