“Here is a movie that could well end up with cult status, as it has all the right ingredients to make it just so.”
Prank is the brainchild of first time feature director Yiuwing Lam, who also wrote this clever story of revenge, bullying and murder. Lam is one of the most promising directors of this type of horror I’ve seen in awhile, as he uses the done-to-death, video shoot horror technique. I honestly think if anyone less capable attempted this, it would have fallen flat, as this type of movie is no easy task to keep fresh or different. The highly able young cast were a huge part of why this low budget indie will succeed, but of course there is no film without a good story, and Lam seems to have a knack at keeping the audience engrossed. He went for subtle when it came to anything violent, learning that what we think we know, is far more powerful than what we actually know. And of course, this is far from new, but the fact that this new director can come along, and take a horse thats already been flogged with great vigour, then produce something greater than the sum of its parts, is quite a feat.
We have three bullied friends, Conner (Nick Renaud), Jordan (Henry Monfries) and Chunk (Gemmenne de la Peña), who are sick of being picked on and beaten, so decide to get some payback by playing the ultimate prank. The “prank” involves making a fool of the two bullies, played well by Alastair Ferrie (Dax) and Rene Cadet (Omar), by recording their shock and posting it on the internet. Needless to say, nothing goes right for the useless trekkie rubes, as time after time their efforts fail and they end up with broken noses and lots of bruises. Then a loaded gun comes into play, and it all goes horribly wrong, leaving a dead hostage, and a chainsaw begging to be used.
Here is a movie that could well end up with cult status, as it has all the right ingredients to make it just so. A classic. The acting is quite brilliant by this relatively inexperienced cast, but Lam coaxes some excellent performances from this group of young adult up-and-comers, giving us an indie that is sure to see the new director get handed a studio sized budget next time. They would be fools not to.
Grade: B
