Walker Leonard (walkerfe)
Nobody on this site has reviewed this movie since it turned ten years old. As the hype over the Scream movies has passed, I feel like this movie has aged pretty well. While I saw this movie as a child and didn't realize its shortcomings, today I certainly don't pick up a video-rental caliber rip off of a 90's slasher and expect it to be impressive. I just hope for some suspense, corny characters that can keep me entertained and an unpredictable killer reveal. In my opinion, Do You Wanna Know a Secret? hit all of those notes and therefore is a passable movie.The highlights: I actually liked that they kept most of the kills off screen. It helped this low budget movie stay believable and really helped amplify the impact of what we actually do see towards the end. This has been a sore spot for some other reviewers, but I like to believe that it was a stylistic choice more than a budgetary restriction. (I could be wrong about that, but it still works for me)I was really surprised by the killer reveal. I won't spoil anything but I'll say that at the beginning of the final act I made a list of all the characters I thought would be the killer, and the person who really did it was half way down the list, with 3 or 4 characters I thought more likely. That means to me that the red herrings - while subtle - were effective, which is key in any slasher from the wave that came directly post-Scream.The cinematography was exceptional for a straight-to-video release in 4:3. I have no complaints in this regard. The makeup was also very good. One scene that calls to the movie's title has stuck with me for years. I will simply never forget it. I also enjoyed the humor, and the gardener's brief appearance really made me laugh.The sore spots: Let's be frank, this is nothing that you haven't seen before. From the college setting at the beginning to the party house, the locations are all standard and far from flashy. They aren't utilized in any ways that make them seem important and are just there to let the meta-slasher formula run its course.In a post-Scream slasher, the best thing about the script is frequently meta references and in-jokes for horror fans. This movie stays pretty much clear of that content which was disappointing. The killer reveal was fresh, but the characters were very by-the-numbers and not in a spoofy way. Oh, and yeah
the killer mask. It's pretty hilarious. To sum things up, I didn't come to DYWKAS with the expectation of greatness or high quality. I was entertained and got what I wanted out of this, even with a 5-dollar price tag that could have gotten me 3-4 new releases from Redbox. I recommend it to any slasher fan who can go in with the same moderate expectations.
say_jay1
I am so confused. What in the world was this movie about? What was the killer's motivation? He seemed quite angry, but I have yet to figure out why. Nothing in this movie made sense. It had zero depth. Or less than zero depth. Which I guess would make it a hill. Or a pile. Of crap. The acting was horrible. When I searched for a few of the actors in this movie, they had been in very few things that I had heard of, and that came as absolutely no surprise. I can't decide whether to feel sorry for them for the embarrassment of being in a movie this bad, or to feel that they should never be offered another acting job again. Starting . . . NOW! (Seinfeld reference.) Really, though, don't waste your time with this. There's so little substance that there's nothing there even just to make fun of. This was undoubtedly one of the worst slasher flicks -- NO, one of the worst flicks of ANY KIND, that I have ever had the misfortune to watch, and I've seen quite a few.
slayrrr666
"Do You Wanna Know a Secret?" is a lame and fairly unexciting slasher.**SPOILERS**A year after a college massacre, students Hank Ford, (Joseph Lawrence) his girlfriend Beth Morgan, (Dorie Barton) and their friends Tina Webster, (Leonora Scelfo) Nellie Lopez, (Elsie Escobar) Oz Washington, (Tom Jay Jones) and Brad Adams, (Chad Allen) arrive in Florida for Spring Break. Renting a house for the time, they start drinking and having a good time together until past incidents are exposed. As they prepare to go to a local rave, their emotions still get the best of them. As people around them start to die one-by-one, tensions mount as they believe each other did it, as they all have secrets to hide from each other. When they continue to meet gruesome deaths, they piece together the clues and solve the killer's identity before they kill again.The Good News: There isn't a whole lot here that actually works. The biggest issue is that the film does manage to sell the creepy house they're staying in a place of potentially suspenseful. There's lots of long hallways, creepy furniture and statues that adorn the walls and large glass windows that allow in lots of light into the rooms. It manages to stay a threat mainly due to it's appearance once it's been discovered that the friends are starting to get knocked off. The tension at not knowing who or where the killer is. That gives it some pretty nice suspense in the middle of the film, due to it's location. The main bloodshed acts in the house are pretty good, as there's several deaths all pretty close to each other. The scene where they're all in the rave is pretty entertaining in a realistic manner, as it's exactly the kind of behavior to be expected in that kind of environment from those involved. All these, though, are the film's main points.The Bad News: This here is a really lackluster slasher with some major flaws. One of the main ones is a really, really staggered pace. There's absolutely nothing going on in here for about forty minutes in this, then there's about a five minute phase where everyone gets killed off, then nothing until the very end. The fact that the ending is completely dragged out far beyond what it should've been is another big error, making things take longer than it could've been done had it in a much shorter fashion. This really negates much of the ending's impact, which wasn't that much to begin with as it takes forever to spill to the characters what the audience had known since the film started. That's another problem, as the film is really easy to predict and no real surprises come from it. Plot turns are fairly simple to guess and don't have any real shock when they come as they were sign-posted early on and don't really mean much. The killer in this is the biggest one, as the mask chosen devalues the fear of this intensely. It's way too comical and non-frightening to make it serious they're a threat. Not harming matters is the fact that the deaths are a severe disappointment. There's only about two or three deaths actually done on-screen while the rest are all killed off-screen, and the ones on-screen are simply slit throats while the ones that would've appeared to be more adventurous are all off-screen. That's one of the most maddening things about it, and really helps to make this a really below par-entry.The Final Verdict: A few small areas of success and a lot of major problems doom this potentially entertaining but ultimately unsuccessful attempt. Had it followed through more on the slasher motives, this would be watchable, but as it is, this is really only recommended for the most die-hard slasher completists or those looking for a solid laugh-fest with friends.Rated R: Graphic Language, Graphic Violence and some drug use
ladies_pinch
I will admit the only reason that i Really watched this film is because i Love Joey Lawrence! I thought it would be a good teen thriller film, well it is a teen thriller film but its not all that good. Its an okay horror movie there are some parts that make you jump and you will never guess he killer. Now i thought Joey Lawrence was actually quite good in this film he plays Hank Ford the typical hunky boyfriend, but still quite good, the only thing that lets him down is that his part is badly written (and thats hardly his fault is it?) Plus there are some NICE scenes where you see Him kick Boxing in a club and a sexy shower scene! So despite the negative comments this film isn't the worst film ever made!!! Its not great but its watchable !