Directed by Renny Harlin. Written by J.S. Cardone. Starring Steven Strait, Sebastian Stan, Taylor Kitsch, Laura Ramsey, Chace Crawford, Jessica Lucas, Toby Hemingway, Kyle Schmid, Sarah Smyth, Jon McLaren, Kenneth Welsh, Stephen McHattie and Wendy Crewson.
Plot: 4 warlock friends attending prep school have secret powers and must use them to protect themselves and their town, when another warlock comes to destory it.
I’m about to tell you, from beginning to end, everything about this movie so you know why to avoid it. Let me start by saying that all of the people in this movie have made much better movies. Go watch them instead. Even the main guy, Steven Strait, who I thought was absolutely abysmal in this, was in a movie called After, just six years after this, that he was spectacular in, so…
When this opens, we find out that witches did exist always and in the 1600’s, during the whole “burn them at the stake” craze, they went silent so as not to be killed. Four of the witch’s descendants, Caleb (Strait), Pogue (Kitsch), Tyler (Crawford) and Reid (Hemingway), have powers themselves. However, they often use them irresponsibly. Especially Reid, who Caleb fights with a lot about his abuse of power. Apparently, these warlocks get their powers at 13, but they can’t use the full force (unsure why) till they turn 18 and Ascend.
Also though, using your powers too much, prematurely ages you. It was what killed Caleb’s father (or so we’re told). Anywho, a student is found dead in his car. That gets the whole story really going because Caleb ends up seeing an apparition of him in his car. These apparitions are called Darklings in this story. Not sure why that is. It is all a ton of nonsense. And here comes the women! There’s Sarah (Ramsey), who is going to start dating Caleb. And there’s her friend, Kate (Lucas), who gets into a little relationship with Pogue. Also, a new kid comes to town, Chase (Stan), who befriends Caleb, but Pogue does not trust him.
Caleb doesn’t trust Reid though and thinks he may be up to something more sinister. Pogue and Kate believe it’s Chase who is the real bad guy. Caleb, wrong again, just thinks Pogue is jealous. But then Sarah starts being followed. Then, she starts having nightmares. And Kate is attacked with magic and falls into a coma. And then Caleb sees Chase’s eyes turns black and realizes that Pogue is right about him. See, Chase was adopted and didn’t always know he was a witch. When he found out, he used his powers too willynilly and is now getting older and weaker. What he wants from Caleb and the others is their power. The rules here are that if a witch wills you their powers, you can take them and use them up, extending your own powers and your life as well. It kills the other person in the process, however. And it is also, by no means, reasonable, explained or even portrayed well at all.
Pogue goes after Chase because of Kate, but Chase is too strong. This is when we find out that Caleb’s father is still alive, but very, very old looking. He’s on his last legs really. When Sarah is kidnapped by Chase, Caleb goes after her. At the same time, Caleb’s mother goes to Caleb’s father and asks him to will his power to his son. This, of course, kills Caleb’s father, but it empowers Caleb to a point that he cannot be hurt by anyone else. Even another warlock. The main fight happens in and around a barn and it is captivating. Oh no, wait, let’s call a spade a spade, it’s actually quite a ridiculous display of so-called acting and effects.
To save his life, his power, his friend’s lives and their powers, Caleb has to kill Chase. And he does. By using what I’m calling “Malice Bubbles”. See, they use their magical energy to create these bubbles out of thin air that they then throw at one another with varying degrees of force. Look at the picture below to see these clever Malice Bubbles in action. It’s so sad.
I really can’t believe this crap was made. It was melodramatic, unrealistic and so, so, so overtly homoerotic. For one thing, it’s basically Twilight as a daytime soap opera. Yes, that bad. For another thing, the realism is not just pushing boundaries, it is totally absent. When Kate falls into a coma, the school nurse actually tells Sarah absolutely everything about her friend’s condition. She isn’t family! She’s her roommate! Christ! And don’t get me started on the eroticism. Look at the picture below and just try to tell me they’re not trying to appeal to girls and gay men and ONLY girls and gay men.
The whole story is convoluted and corny. It’s unoriginal and I do not understand why all these actors agreed to do this crap. The dialogue is disgraceful. The characters are godawful. And if you can believe it after seeing the swim trunk picture, there are no boobs anywhere. There’s an obvious tramp stamp, but no boobs. Sin.
My score: 5. Never, ever, ever watch this!
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