The Final Review

THE FINAL (2010)
Rated R (ALSO AVAILABLE UNRATED)
93 MIN
DIRECTED BY JOEY STEWART
WRITTEN BY JASON KABOLATI
STARRING MARC DONATO, JASCHA WASHINGTON, AND WHITNEY HOY
KILL COUNT: 9

                                     
Hello droogs, and welcome back to Gruesome Encounters! Today we are going to do a little picking apart of an independent film called "The Final". This will be the first review done between the Midnitekrawlr and myself, but certainly not the last. Him and I are just like Mickey and Mallory Knox....minus all the sex and murder of course...oh, and the names....and the marriage.... Emmm...let's get started shall we?

                                       

                                          MULTIDAWL                                               

I actually picked this DVD up off of Amazon not too long ago. When I first saw the cover art I thought for sure it would be an Asian film...I mean c'mon, it completely looks like an Asian ghost film! Anyhow, let's talk a little bit about what it actually is, and what is was really like as an experience.

      The Final as a whole was an altogether good experience, the only issue I had from time to time was the occasional difficulty to look past some really bad acting. I understand that it is an indy film, but sometimes it was just really bad.

  The film focuses on the outcast teens in a high school. They were bullied every day, and just flat out tormented. That is actually one thing that attracted me to this one, aside from the word "torture" in the
description of course. When I was in high school I was tormented a lot as well. Now...I know what you
are thinking..."You DawL? No way! You are the poster child for normalcy"! Well, I am sad to say, but yes it is true. Your lovely DawL hated high school, and most of the douche nozzles in it. The Final shows what happens to said douche nozzles in horror films. The bullied teens decide they want to take revenge on the kids that make their lives living hells for no reason, so they stage a "costume party", invite the popular kids to it, and voila! We now have the perfect setup to enact before mentioned plan for revenge!

      How do they do it you ask? Well, they drug the punch of course. After the popular kids fall asleep, they
are chained up, and the outcasts now have the opportunity they have been waiting for...the chance to torture,
mame, and dismember the kids they hate so much.

     I think The Final had a great story. It was different, I identified with it on a pretty high level, and for the most part it flowed very well (plus it had a gas mask...I love gas masks). I would recommend checking it out if you have the time. Now... my final summation? Allow me to break it down for you!


OVERALL: 3 STARS
GORE: 2 STARS
STORY: 4 STARS

FAVORITE KILL: SADLY,
I DON'T HAVE ONE. 
THERE WASN'T MUCH 
DEATH, AND NONE OF
THE KILLS WERE VERY
SPECTACULAR. THIS
FILM SURVIVES ON
STORY ALONE.

                                                     

                                           

                                               

                                                   MIDNITEKRAWLR

Ahhh high school...were you one of the lucky popular kids who never had a worry in the world or were you one of the less fortunate, a reject, unpopular, an outcast? The Final gives us plenty to think about in those terms and a bit of torture and dash of mayhem to keep you entertained through out.

The unpopular kids in this flick have had enough and coax their bully counterparts into attending a costume party. Unknowingly the preps begin to party it out like theres no tomorrow and they fall one by one into a slumber, someone has spiked the kool-aid! Waking in chains and thinking its a joke, the culprits reveal themselves sporting some kick ass costumes and some heavy artillery.

What ensues next is a game of torture and head fuckery as the the outcasts punish each one of their victims one by one. From a cattle prod to the face, finger chopping, spine severing, bear trapping, acupuncture, and a couple of extreme makeovers, I couldn't help but notice that the gore felt very "light". Did I forget to mention I watched the R rated version, DOH! Regardless, the scenes of payback were very enjoyable and tension filled at times.

By the end of the flick the outcasts have got their message across but at the price of their lives. Besides a stoner cop, the most memorable scene has to be an Audition like torture complete with the torturer sporting a red and black outfit a la Eihi Shiina! And the banjo plays............

STORY:4
GORE:2
OVERALL:4
FAVORITE KILL:despite the torture no significant kill stood out