Tamara is the very poor man's "Carrie". The film treads very similar territory to De Palma's horror classic but shares none of that great movie's insight or relentless rage. Both films have high school bullying and revenge as their central themes but that is where the similarities end. "Carrie" expertly placed the viewer in the protagonist's shoes and made you squirm along with her through every sordid humiliation. Tamara, on the other hand, transforms its titular heroine into a serial-killing bimbo, complete with some admittedly rather amusing one-liners. While Tamara completely misses the mark as the hard hitting revenge horror movie it so obviously aims to be, it does succeed as one of the most irreverent, tasteless and funny American teen horror films of the past few years.
The tone of the film is set from the very first scene in which Tamara daydreams about having sex with her teacher during English class. This is a film that is unashamedly low brow. Tamara is depicted as the typical high school outcast. She's a mousy nerd who does incredibly stupid things like writing articles about the football team's drug use. Tamara is so clueless that you almost hope someone will knock some sense into her. This feeling only grows stronger when Tamara tries to kiss her English teacher, Mr Natolly. His rejection results in Tamara using her powers of witchcraft to cast a love spell - conveniently, Tamara has a book of spells and pagan altar in her loft. The spell only works after Tamara is accidentally killed by some of her classmates when a surprisingly nasty practical joke goes wrong. Just when the film appears to have taken on a more serious, gritty tone, Tamara turns up to school as mini-skirt wearing hottie and begins to wreak her revenge.
From the moment Tamara returns from grave as a satanic Barbie doll, the film stops trying to scare and basically becomes a gory comedy. This is the section of the film that appealed to me the most. The murders are bloody and innovative, while Tamara's new super-bitch persona makes her a memorable horror villain. The best murders include Tamara giving new meaning to the old "hear, say, see no evil" adage and a death by beer bottle moment. As well as inflicting violence, Tamara uses her evil powers of persuasion to full advantage. In one of the funniest and most unusual scenes in mainstream horror, Tamara gets her revenge on two date-raping jocks by making them have sex with each other. Tamara's campy "pitcher/catcher" commentary is destined to become a thing of cult adoration. Clearly at the top of her game, Tamara also memorably makes a bulimic girl vomit her internal organs up and then makes her insatiably hungry - to the point where she starts chewing off her fingers. That's what I call entertainment.
As the film moves to its irrational finale, it begins to lose some momentum. When the focus of the film moves from Tamara to Mr Natolly, it automatically reverts to the standard teen horror formula. Nevertheless, the finale does at least include another great one-liner. In fact, the film is distinguished by its unusually strong, if uneven, script. The dialogue is surprisingly funny and sections of the film are very innovative. Tamara is only let down by its inconsistency and lack of cohesion. The film works very well intermittently but there are just as many flat spots. Another disappointment is the poor quality of the special effects. The digital effects look cheap and unconvincing. The gore effects are slightly better but still sub-standard. Jeremy Haft's direction is competent but often uninspired. This description could also apply to the actors. The exception is the lead, Jenna Dewan. Jenna makes the transition from mouse to sexy super-bitch with the utmost ease. I would like to see this woman in a straight comedy. She makes Tamara a very amusing psycho indeed.
It's no surprise that Tamara died a miserable death at the box office. The film is a messy mix of horror sub-genres. Tamara is too quirky for fans of lite-horror and nowhere near dark enough for gore lovers. Hopefully, the film will find an audience on DVD. Tamara might be a mess, but it has enormous camp appeal and is well and truly a cut above the usual teen horror movie. This film is a trashy delight.
The tone of the film is set from the very first scene in which Tamara daydreams about having sex with her teacher during English class. This is a film that is unashamedly low brow. Tamara is depicted as the typical high school outcast. She's a mousy nerd who does incredibly stupid things like writing articles about the football team's drug use. Tamara is so clueless that you almost hope someone will knock some sense into her. This feeling only grows stronger when Tamara tries to kiss her English teacher, Mr Natolly. His rejection results in Tamara using her powers of witchcraft to cast a love spell - conveniently, Tamara has a book of spells and pagan altar in her loft. The spell only works after Tamara is accidentally killed by some of her classmates when a surprisingly nasty practical joke goes wrong. Just when the film appears to have taken on a more serious, gritty tone, Tamara turns up to school as mini-skirt wearing hottie and begins to wreak her revenge.
From the moment Tamara returns from grave as a satanic Barbie doll, the film stops trying to scare and basically becomes a gory comedy. This is the section of the film that appealed to me the most. The murders are bloody and innovative, while Tamara's new super-bitch persona makes her a memorable horror villain. The best murders include Tamara giving new meaning to the old "hear, say, see no evil" adage and a death by beer bottle moment. As well as inflicting violence, Tamara uses her evil powers of persuasion to full advantage. In one of the funniest and most unusual scenes in mainstream horror, Tamara gets her revenge on two date-raping jocks by making them have sex with each other. Tamara's campy "pitcher/catcher" commentary is destined to become a thing of cult adoration. Clearly at the top of her game, Tamara also memorably makes a bulimic girl vomit her internal organs up and then makes her insatiably hungry - to the point where she starts chewing off her fingers. That's what I call entertainment.
As the film moves to its irrational finale, it begins to lose some momentum. When the focus of the film moves from Tamara to Mr Natolly, it automatically reverts to the standard teen horror formula. Nevertheless, the finale does at least include another great one-liner. In fact, the film is distinguished by its unusually strong, if uneven, script. The dialogue is surprisingly funny and sections of the film are very innovative. Tamara is only let down by its inconsistency and lack of cohesion. The film works very well intermittently but there are just as many flat spots. Another disappointment is the poor quality of the special effects. The digital effects look cheap and unconvincing. The gore effects are slightly better but still sub-standard. Jeremy Haft's direction is competent but often uninspired. This description could also apply to the actors. The exception is the lead, Jenna Dewan. Jenna makes the transition from mouse to sexy super-bitch with the utmost ease. I would like to see this woman in a straight comedy. She makes Tamara a very amusing psycho indeed.
It's no surprise that Tamara died a miserable death at the box office. The film is a messy mix of horror sub-genres. Tamara is too quirky for fans of lite-horror and nowhere near dark enough for gore lovers. Hopefully, the film will find an audience on DVD. Tamara might be a mess, but it has enormous camp appeal and is well and truly a cut above the usual teen horror movie. This film is a trashy delight.