“Kirsty isn’t a film that’s trying to reinvent the wheel”
by Nav Qateel
Kirsty turned out to far more effective than I expected, and truth be told, my sole reason for watching in the first place was Ashley Greene. And although, zombies and found-footage have pretty much worn out their welcome as far as I’m concerned, unless, of course, Zack Snyder was to try his hand at another Z flick, I’ll happily watch most horror that comes my way, but introduce a smokin’ hot girl like Ashley Greene into the mix, and I’m sold.
It was most fortunate, then, that Kirsty (or Random, as it’s also known) turned out to be a solid little slasher, too. Even with a plethora of clichés to contend with, Kirsty had enough of an original spin with interesting plot twists to prevent the done-to-death masked-killer routine from spoiling the proceedings with too much deja vu. There’s only so many ways a masked-killer can look dangerously cool as he tilts his head to the side in their cocky manner, before it just starts to look lame. Out of everything I took away from both versions of The Purge ( and others like You’re Next), was that masks are no longer as effective as once they were, but no single film can be blamed for this.
- Random
- Directed by
Oliver Blackburn - Cast
Haley Bennett, Ashley Greene, Lucas Till - Release Date
2014 - Nav’s Grade: B
*****
Justine Wills (Haley Bennett) is the only student not going home for Thanksgiving. After a run in with the crazy-looking Violet (Ashley Greene) in a nearby store, Justine finds she’s been targeted by a gang of very dangerous mask-wearing killers who continually refer to her as Kirsty. Violet is the only one of the gang who doesn’t wear a mask though her face is always mostly covered, offering a creepy look you wouldn’t expect possible from Greene, but the actress demonstrates her versatility with this great performance. After cutting the college phone lines, the gang video their hunt through the campus for Justine, and they don’t hesitate when they need to kill anyone who gets in their way while they look for Kirsty/Justine.
Justine’s boyfriend Aaron is played by Lucas Till, who doesn’t have a great deal of screen time. As well as Till’s recent stint on X-Men: Days of Future Past as Havok, you can see him later this year in what looks to be an interesting horror titled Wolves, in the directorial debut of well-known screenwriter David Hayter (Devil’s Mile) and starring Jason Momoa.
Haley Bennett did some good work with her Justine character and her commitment came through loud and clear. I also loved that Ashley Greene played a darker character than we’re used to seeing and it payed off in spades for the actress. Director Oliver Blackburn managed to keep the film tense for most of the running time which couldn’t have been an easy task, so kudos for such a valiant effort. Kirsty isn’t a film that’s trying to reinvent the wheel, however, it does demonstrate how effective a solid little well-made horror can be.
