- Directed by: Jeffrey Primm
- Written by: Dominic Arcelin, Jeffrey Primm
- Stars: Colin Egglesfield, Luna Fujimoto, Hunter Nance
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 25 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxTWmV1ePVw
Spoiler-Free Judgment Zone
This is quick moving and plays the tropes well. It’s a killer picking off a group of people with the who and why being a mystery. We both thought it was very well made and entertained.
Spoilery Synopsis
A young couple makes out at her place. They undress, and she mentions she’s always wanted to be tied up. Before they get started, she sees someone in the next room. While he’s in the shower, the masked killer stabs her to death. When he comes out, the killer slashes his throat. Credits roll.
Two years later, at Bristol Falls College, Brent and Joanne talk about videogames. She asks him to go to a movie, but he may have to work. We see various characters as they all come or go from school. Candice and Clyde argue while Eric and Joanne run for their test.
Teacher Kelly talks about forensic anthropology, and his favorite student is Lisa. They all go to the lab to see some skeletal remains; it’s their group assignment. They need to photograph and investigate the bones and report back. They all screw around, and we can see who does and doesn’t take it seriously.
In the midst of the examination of the plastic bones, they find a real one. They’re interrupted by the police and ambulance; Jill was killed last night. The detective explains how many times Jill was stabbed. Laurie’s the coroner, and she talks to the class about seeing anything last night. Lisa was the last to see Jill, but she says she didn’t see anything weird. In reality, she saw Clyde outside the library last night. Candace thinks Clyde is the killer, and he takes offense to that.
Lisa and Brent bond in the parking lot. Clyde sits in his car, but he’s not moving. Brent finds finger bones next to his own car when he leaves. That night, the masked killer stabs Eric and Joanna.
Sheriff Bracco comes to Kelly to talk. Kelly’s father died in an accident a year ago, but Kelly still wonders about the “accident.” The sheriff gets called to the diner, where they’ve found Clyde’s body. All the students, especially Candice, suspects everyone, and she has lots of theories.
Patty, Brent, Candace, and Lisa find Eric and Joanna’s body. Patty finds a bone in her apron– could creepy janitor Carl have put it there? What about old Bob, the weird guy from class? Brent calls Bob, who sounds pretty creepy on the phone. Candace tells the gang about Kelly’s family history– his grandfather was probably a murderer, and his father died mysteriously last year.
The four students go out to the country to find Kelly, who lives in a big mansion with an unlocked door. They go inside and find the power is off. Outside, the killer smashes Patty. Brent gets pushed through a window, Candace gets stabbed off-screen, and Lisa runs outside, terrified, as the killer closes in on her.
Lisa finds Kelly tied up in the garage and lets him loose. They go into the house for his car keys, and the killer stabs him. Lisa asks why he’s doing all this, and the killer takes off his mask, revealing Laurie, the coroner. “Why not?” She complains about being sick of the same old routine, and she just wanted to have some fun for once. She says she was the wife of the man who was cheating in the pre-credit sequence. The best part is that she’ll be the one put in charge of the investigation.
Brent sneaks in from outside and whacks Laurie good. Naturally, she jumps up to scare everyone, but then Bob shows up out of nowhere and shoots her half a dozen times. Kelly will probably survive the stab wounds, and Brent and Lisa thank Bob, who was secretly Kelly’s uncle. Brent and Lisa kiss. Happy ending?
We cut to the coroner’s assistant, who picks up the mask in a creepy way…
Brian’s Commentary
It’s quite good. There are a lot of characters, but they are all distinctive, and most die off pretty quickly. The acting is decent all around, and we’re never quite sure why the killer is doing what he’s doing or who he is until the end.
It’s got all the usual slasher/kill-the-teen elements, but it’s really well done and has a few unique elements thrown in. I liked it!
Kevin’s Commentary
Hiding bones in a bunch of bones and planting bones and manipulating bones. Yes, this one is about the bones. And people getting bumped off gradually by a masked killer. This was a very good one. Fresh and interesting.