So this was supposed to be a review of Most Likely to Die. And it’s going to be one, of sorts. Well, really I’m just going to complain about it and then recommend you spend your time watching something else. Spoiler alert.
Anyway, into the breach.
Basically, a bunch of friends are getting together the night before their 10 year high school reunion. In high school, they were the popular kids who bullied everyone else, including in a year book prank where they labeled one particularly unpopular kid the “most likely to die.” That’s a pretty stupid prank if you ask me–most likely to die, really? Not to get philosophical here, but all men die. Anywho–but it ruins the one kid’s life and they all feel just real terrible about it.
I think you can see where this is going.
One by one they die, no one has cell phone coverage, someone cut the fuel lines on their cars, and for some reason they can’t just walk down the road or, I don’t know, stick together for five seconds.
Pretty standard slasher material, all things told. There are some decent kills, and the murderer wears a high school graduation outfit with a mortarboard that would make Odd Job proud. But everything else about the movie–acting, dialogue, score, camera work, plot–is mediocre, even with an actor named Ryan Doom starring. Jake Busey also make an appearance, though it is not his finest work. Oh, and Perez Hilton. He’s actually pretty good.
Frankly the most interesting thing about this movie is a strange bit of serendipity. There’s a book out recently also called Most Likely to Die. The movie and the book, as far as I can tell, have nothing in common except for the titles. Well and the plot. Consider, if you will, the synopses.
Book:
A 20-year reunion has been scheduled for St. Elizabeth’s. For some alumni, very special invitations have been sent: their smiling senior pictures slashed by an angry red line…
Three women have been marked for death. Tonight, as the music plays, and the doors of St. Elizabeth are sealed, a killer will finish what was started long ago, and the sins of the past will be paid for in blood…
Movie:
A group of former classmates gather for a pre-party at one of their homes the night before their 10-year high school reunion, and one by one, they are brutally slain in a manner befitting each’s senior yearbook superlative [editors note: This is an interesting conceit. They do not follow through on it.
The movie synopsis neglects to mention that our heroes also have a slash through their yearbook pictures and that they are also paying for the sins of the past.
I admit I didn’t spend too much time trying to figure out if these are connected. Strange coincidence though, right?
The takeaway: Most Likely to Die is not a terrible way to waste an hour and a half of your life. It’s not boring; it’s just not that interesting either. Instead, if you are looking for a horror movie this Halloween, aim a little higher and see A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night. Check out my review here.
2.5 Stars
