Reviewed by Melissa Antoinette Garza
“Why don’t you take that little badge of yours, and stick it.”- Zac (DJ Perry)
John (Michael Rene Walton) is a polite albeit geeky teenager who loves the role-playing game” Dungeons and Dragons” a little too much. Even his nerdy friends are cooler than he is. They relentlessly pick on him. Worse yet, his mother is overprotective, religious and forbids him to play D&D He disobeys and still attends the gaming night. His professor, Mr. Jack Nixon (Tim Jeffrey) hosts the event as the Dungeon Master and things get out of control when John seeks revenge within the game. Though they are all within the same party, John attacks Hanee (Nathan L. Thomas), one of the bullies’ characters and then panics as his own character is placed in harm’s way.
Despite, the others constantly torturing him, he develops a crush on Brooke (Laura Tidwell) a fellow gamer and girlfriend of another bully Zac (DJ Perry). She belittles his advances. Even the professor’s wife, Laura (Laura Alexander) who is nice to John’s face is caught insulting him behind his back. The only true innocent in the abuse is Mr. Nixon. He does his best to keep John sane and remind him that D&D is only a game. When John begins to refer to the people as their character names, Jack politely corrects him.
Pushed to the edge and unable to take the abuse anymore, John runs his car into a tree and commits suicide. Soon, a knight appears and seeks revenge on all of those who wronged the poor gamer. The film evolves from a low-budget after school special to a mystical slasher film.
The death scenes are decent, the villain is original, and the lead character does invoke sympathy. Anyone who was or can remember someone who was a complete outcast in highschool will understand John. Walton does well creating a creepy weirdo that the audience can still feel for.
The only other characters that had any type of strength or depth were Nixon and Zac. They both added to the overall story and were able to stand out. Everyone else is merely there for the casualty count, and any scenes with them seem wasted and out of place.
The restrictions of budget hindered the lighting, and the acting was about average for this type of production. In the 80s there were several movies that had similar plots. Stephen King’s “Chistine”, ”Shock em’ Dead,” and “Slaughter High,” all told the tale of a teased outcast who seeks revenge. All did a better job.
Overall, it is still vastly superior to most low budget movies and is worthy of a once over. D&D players may either enjoy it more, or the super serious ones may get offended by the game’s representation. The conclusion makes less sense than the rest of the film, but it is funny.
Scared Stiff Review: 5/10
