The Facts:
Synopsis: When a college girl alone on campus over the Thanksgiving break is targeted by a group of outcasts, she must conquer her deepest fears to outwit them and fight back.
Stars: Haley Bennett, Ashley Greene, Lucas Till, Erica Ash, James Ransone, Chris Coy, Mike Seal, Lucius Falick, Matthew St. Patrick
Director: Oliver Blackburn
Rated: NR
Running Length: 86 minutes
TMMM Score: (7.5/10)
Where to Watch: Netflix
Review: You know how sometimes Netflix will exercise its info gathering muscle by sending you an e-mail letting you know they just added a movie you’d like? Based on my viewing preferences, I’m always getting a notice about some indie horror flick making its debut on the streaming service. If I’m honest, most of the suggestions remain that way, sure I may add them at the time but they quickly get pushed further and further down my queue. For a while there though, they were nicely on target and steered me toward a few winners. Now it’s my turn to share the wealth.
After suffering through 2012’s The Apparition, I made a pact not to let myself be exposed to another Ashley Greene (Wish I Was Here – another movie I loathed) film. That particular movie made me so mad I felt justified in holding a grudge against all involved…but when Kristy became the latest suggested title from my good friends over at Netflix I decided to give her another shot.
Feeling very “now” (which means it’ll be dated in several years), Kristy is a thriller heavy on atmosphere resting squarely on the shoulders of its leading lady (Haley Bennett, The Magnificent Seven). Greene plays the leader of a gang of cyber cultists that hunt and kill random females they dub with the moniker ‘Kristy’. With no motive to speak of, it’s impossible to look for meaning in their murder-for-sport thrill-kills and the overall brutality to all that stand in their way makes Greene and her crew into fairly nifty villains. Unfortunately, their latest target is Justine (Bennett, a strong heroine) and she’s not going down without a fight.
It’s the Thanksgiving break and college-student Justine doesn’t have the money to make it home. Her boyfriend (Lucas Till, Stoker) and roommate (Erica Ash) have family obligations so aside from a friendly security guard (Matthew St. Patrick) and a solitary maintenance man (James Ransone, Sinister) she’s has the entire campus to herself. Needing some sustenance for the long weekend, Justine makes a late night convenience store dash where she has a run-in with Greene. The murder mob follows Justine back to her deserted dormitory and over the course of the evening the bodies pile up in most gruesome ways. Working from a tight script by Anthony Jaswinski (The Shallows), director Oliver Blackburn keeps the tension high, working the shadowy corridors and security-lit grounds to his advantage. The campus is wide-open but feels like a prison as Justine scrambles for safety while the four-person posse goes on safari for another ‘Kristy’ to add to their trophy wall.
I look at Kristy now as a nice make-up for me and Greene, because this was one hell of a solid movie that deserved a bigger audience. Admittedly, I imagine the film plays better at home than it did in whatever limited release it had but this is competent filmmaking surpassing much of the lame big studio fare topping box offices throughout the year. For the extra brave, I’d suggest watching this one alone late at night in your basement, just for the added thrill of it all.