GL84 Traveling through the desert, a man picks up a friendly hitcher who reveals that he's a vampire hunter where they find an infected vampire who hasn't turned yet and after a series of encounters with one of the original vampires and team up to take him down.This one wasn't that bad when it really mattered. One of the film's greatest pluses here is the strong and somewhat fleshed-out story which is rather nice in not only allowing for a slightly original take on a clichéd vampire story but also making for a natural excuse to feature a lot of action. The idea of having to hunt down a vampire of this one's scale and importance is pretty clever, especially when it could've been a Dracula clone. The fact that it doesn't is a testament that they wanted to go in a fresh new territory. As well, when it comes down to it, the action in here is pretty good as we get a complete out-of-the-norm in several car chases on the highway, and the brevity the first couple are among the more involved ones. The final one is perhaps the best, as it's two-part structure is pretty exciting to watch as the house shoot- out leading into it by itself is quite fun while letting the other action get featured quite nicely. There's also the strong storyline about the connection to the main vampire here with the telepathic victim and the flashes of their activities that causes them to track the group here which is a pretty nice and logical touch. Along with the bloody kills and nice nudity, these here are what works nicely for this one. There's a few problems here with this one that does hold it back, which starts with the rather disjointed pacing, Even though it picks up considerably in the later half, the initial introduction of everything comes pretty slowly since it takes a while before any vampires actually show up. Too much time is taken up with the exploration of the desert and getting to believe the story that the film takes a while to get going. The action scenes at the beginning of the film are pretty lackluster, and are quite a letdown when compared to what they could've been. That right there sums up the film pretty good as well: it looks good and has potential to be better if they went all out for it, but instead, they play it safe and it doesn't hold up to what it could've been. Even without all that, the film's biggest mistake is it doesn't really give the vampires anything to do. Sometimes, it seems as if they aren't really vampires at all, as they aren't bloodsuckers or anything like that. About the only reason we know they are is because it tells us they are vampires and because they die by sunlight, but otherwise we don't really know as they don't engage in any vampiric activities. Had they been given more screen-time, this might've been resolved. As it stands, there's some decent parts here though the flaws do stand out.Rated R: Graphic Violence, Graphic Language, Brief Nudity, a brief Rape scene and mild drug use.

moviesleuth2 After viewing this garbage called "The Forsaken," I know why and how it was made. This was not made for any movie fan, horror or otherwise. This was made so that teenagers can ogle at the hot stars, none of whom possess the ability to "act." All they do is preen about the camera looking like they're doing a photo shoot (this is acknowledged in the film, although it's meant to be taken seriously. Believe it or not, it's true.). There is nothing worth watching here.A young guy named Sean (Kerr Smith) is on his way to his sister's wedding in Florida, when he picks up a hitchhiker named Nick (Brendan Fehr). On the way, they pick up a girl who seems to be OD'ing, but really, she's "infected" with a virus that will eventually turn her into a vampire. While trying to save her (temporarily), Sean is bitten. Fortunately, Nick is a vampire hunter, and infected himself. Now they have to track down the main vampire whose subsequent vampire-lings bit them in the first place, which would "cure" them.The story is flat to begin with, but writer/director J.S. Cardone makes it worse by breaking the rules that he made. A story doesn't have to be plausible (vampire stories never are), but a film has to have a set of rules and follow them, otherwise it will seem as it is making the story up as it goes along. That's what happens here. To make matters worse, all of the dialogue sucks. But I guess that's expected with a cast this bad.As the hero, Kerr Smith is really bad. He can make the girls go ga-ga, but he can't act. His co-star, Brendan Fehr, fares better. Of all the characters in the film, he actually becomes someone worth caring about...to a point. It's hard to describe Izabella Miko's performance, because she doesn't say much. For about 90% of the time, she has one of two things to do: scream, or act like she's really drunk or high.But in terms of acting, Kerr Smith comes across as Laurence Olivier when it comes to Jonathan Schaech, who plays Kit, the main vampire. He's atrocious. His attempts to act menacing are so bad that they would be hilarious if they weren't so painful.And if the film wasn't bad enough, the effects are cheap. This is meant for the brainless ADD viewer. Random flashbacks, zooming images, and more atrocious effects hurt the already terrible film. Worse are the special effects. The gore is obviously fake, and the explosions and crashes are cheap.There's no tension or scares of any sort (okay, fine. One scene elevated my pulse up one beat per minute). Just the hope that the movie will end at some point.Avoid "The Forsaken."

catalyst1 The script for this movie is a shameful rip-off of John Carpenter's Vampires (1998). It's almost as though the entire endeavor is a remake with Vampires cast's understudies. Considering how bad that movie is in the first place, that is not a compliment.I'm just consistently floored that writers can get away with obvious plagiarism and someone still is foolish enough to finance the production of it.Unfortunately, this reality is not restricted to forgettable films like this one, it's essentially the state of "entertainment" today.

Paul Andrews The Forsaken starts with Sean (Kerr Smith) getting a job where he has to deliver a car across country to Miami within five days with the added bonus that he can attend his sisters wedding on the cheap. While on his journey a guy named Nick (Brendan Fehr) ask's him for a ride & he'll pay for the gas, being a tight little git Sean accepts. Unfortunately for Sean this decision turns out to be a bad one as Nick is in fact hunting Vampires that roam the desert in an attempt to kill the Forsaken, a head Vampire named Kit (Johnathon Schaech) who spreads the Vampire virus. Along the way they encounter Megan (Izabella Miko) who has been bitten & is close to turning into a Vampire herself, she bites Sean so he also becomes infected with the virus which means he too will become a vampire unless they destroy the source of the virus. Nick uses Megan as bait to lure Kit & his gang into the open where he can put an end to their evil blood-sucking ways...Written & directed by J. S. Cardone I thought The Forsaken was a decent way to pass 90 odd minutes but wasn't anything special or spectacular. The script takes a lot of modern cinematic Vampire themes & ideas, it's a sort of mix of the likes of The Lost Boys (1987), Near Dark (1987), From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Blade (1998) & Vampires (1998) all of which are better than The Forsaken together with the standard isolated desert road trip type setting of The Hitcher (1986) & Thelma & Louise (1991), there's nothing original or nothing we haven't seen before in The Forsaken that's for sure. The character's are your typical teens, the dialogue tries to be hip & modern as it refers to the likes of MTV. To it's credit the film moves along at a fair pace & isn't boring although I'd hardly call it exciting. There is also a criminal lack of Vampire action & lets face it that's the only reason we're watching it, isn't it? The Forsaken is one of those films which is perfectly watchable & entertaining enough in it's own right but within five minutes of it finishing you'll have forgotten all about it.Director Cardone, who directed one time British 'Video Nasty' The Slayer (1982), does an OK job but it's hardly the most exciting film to watch. There are a lot of dull sandy yellow desert shots which give the film a bland look. There are a couple of OK car chases & a few decent explosions but again it's all rather average & middle of the road, it certainly doesn't get the blood pumping that's for sure. Gore wise The Forsaken is a disappointment, there is one scene where someone has their heart ripped out, someone has their throat slit, someone has their head blown off with a shotgun & there is some blood drinking but that's it & Cardone directs with fast editing cuts so you see the absolute minimum he can get away with. On the IMDb's main page for The Forsaken there are some still photo's from the film including one where Sean is holding what looks like a jar of eyeballs, well I only saw it a few hours ago & I'm positive this scene never appears in the version I watched so maybe the film was cut for an 'R' rating or something.With a very reasonable sounding $5,000,000 budget The Forsaken doesn't look like it, sure there are a few action scenes & explosions but other than that it's rather dull & unadventurous. The acting is quite good here actually, I liked Schaech as the main villain & the two young leads were likable enough. Despite being in the film for most of it's duration Miko doesn't say a single word until the final 10 minutes or so.The Forsaken is an OK time-waster, it's perfectly watchable but there are many better Vampire films out there so why would you bother with this? If your a horror nut like me then yeah give it a go but more casual viewers would be advised to think carefully first. Just about worth a watch but don't bust a gut doing so.