Tormented [DVD]

Tormented [DVD] [2009]
Directed by Jon Wright

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£5.99 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Delivery. Details

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Taking a tabloid hot potato--school bullying--and turning it into an effective and very British horror film, Tormented begins as the pupils of a suitably homogenous school gather at the funeral for one of their classmates, Darren Mullet. It quickly transpires that not many people knew him, and very few liked him, with even Tuppence Middleton’s head girl having to say words at his funeral when she seemingly barely had a nice word to say about him in real life. Post-funeral, everyone soon goes back to business as usual, with a party on the agenda. But then the chills start coming, as mobile phones start ringing, and the calls seem to be coming from the supposedly-deceased Mullet.

It’s a simple premise, and one that allows the script of Tormented to make one or two points about bullying, before getting down to its main business of being a better-than-expected teen horror movie. This is the kind of thing that generally American filmmakers have done best over the years, but thanks to a surprisingly strong teen cast, it turns out the film makers of Britain are more than up to the challenge, too.

Writer Stephen Prentice and director Jon Wright wisely take their time sliding the pieces of Tormented into place, establishing their characters and generally initiating in most cases plenty of reason why they should meet their maker. Director Wright then proves he’s an able student of the genre by framing some well-managed jumps, and while the ending is telegraphed some distance away, Tormented is an effective and really rather good little horror movie. Much better than you’re probably expecting, too… --Simon Brew

Synopsis
The best days of your life become your worst nightmare in Tormented, a high school comedy with a very sinister twist. At the exclusive Fairview High grammar school all is not what it seems, although you wouldn't tell from its seemingly normal veneer. With a budding romance between head girl Justine Fielding (Tuppence Middleton) and popular hunk Alexis (Dimitri Leonidas) blossoming for the whole school to see, a sinister undercurrent begins to sweep through the halls. Alexis is a part of a group of friends headed by Bradley (Alex Pettyfer); a clique who victimise the weaker kids for sadistic pleasure. One such victim was poor Darren Mullett (Calvin Dean) bullied so badly during the previous summer, he took his own life in order to escape their diabolical onslaught. Now, with a newfound confidence and absolutely nothing left to lose, Darren is back from the dead to take his revenge in the most bloody and inventive ways.

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