joeywyss
I kept waiting for this to turn into a groan-er, but ended up very surprised. There's some very dark twisted humor woven throughout, and a good choice of newbie casting gives it a solid base to build on. After all the garbage horror I'm finding on Amazon Prime, this was a delight. I had an expectation of some degree of quality when I saw Gershon, Astin and Browder (who also directed!), and was waiting to be let down by the 'teens' but they held their own which saves the movie. Funny without being silly or campy, gory but not ridiculously so, and a solid script that stayed on point. The blending of the graphic novel scenes was a cherry on top to be sure. I usually prefer my horror to lean more supernatural , but this was a solid choice, and THANK HEAVENS none of that found footage garbage.
mbmarsh-05709
I really enjoyed the first movie "Bad Kids Go To Hell". Pretty good acting and a good plot and everything. But this one, "Bad Kids of Crestview Academy", just really disappointed me. A lot of the acting wasn't good. It seemed forced, over dramatic, and at times didn't make sense. But I think, at times, that had more to do with direction and the script than the actors themselves. The dialogue is the same. It was annoying and at times didn't make sense or unnecessary. I really about stopped watching a few times but I already invested the time and I just wanted to know how it ended, in case there is a third. But I literally suffered through the last half. The story line just sucked. I feel like there could have been more thought put into it and the dialogue or something.
A_Different_Drummer
.... which, depending on your POV, may or may not be a compliment.Here is the scoop -- there is a theory in the biz that if you deconstruct enough films in the same script, you may possibly trigger a paradox in the (Hollywood) time-space continuum, Star Trek style, and end up with a film which is actually a legitimate successor to the genre you were trying so hard to satirize.Which is what I think happened here.Ben Browder seems to have learned a LOT of valuable lessons from his first "Bad Kids" attempt -- just a rambly B movie which gained cult status because of some clever tropes -- and came back with a film which (I kid you not) has a remarkably tight script, good performances and good production values.Which is not to say that the Coen Brothers are nervous, far from it. But the script is so interesting (with sly hints of Scream, Friday the 13th, I Know What You Did Last Summer, and even No Country For Old Men) that it actually engages and holds the attention.And Sammi Hanratty gives what can best be called a bravura performance, biting into each line of dialogue and each piece of mayhem like she actually believes what she is saying ... like her career depends on it (which it probably DOES!) ... and essentially picks the film up and carries it to the finish line.Gina Gershon does little more than offer a parody of herself, but her character ironically provides a "political angle" to the film which conveniently comes at a time when the world at large is starting to see politicians as potentially more dangerous than serial killers.Recommended. And I predict there will be more in the series.
Boristhemoggy
Right from the very start this film promises to be badly acted, badly scripted, with an awful story, poor direction and it's just wrong on so many levels: racist, sexist, insulting and just plain rude. You think it's going to be something like Mean Girls meets The Breakfast Club, but it's not even anywhere close to either, it's more like Rotten Tomatoes worst offering. To think that $5 million was wasted on this is actually terrifying because who made the decision to spend so much money on something so few are going to like?I despair to think that people actually film this stuff and get it out there, I despair that anyone but a teen with severe angst would like it. It's utter garbage, don't waste even one minute of your time on it.