‘Revenge has a killer body’
Tamara is a 2005 American horror film directed by Jeremy Haft from a screenplay by Jeffrey Reddick (Return to the Cabin by the Lake; Final Destination, Day of the Dead remake). It stars Jenna Dewan Tatum (American Horror Story; Witches of East End), Katie Stuart (Fangs), Chad Faust, Bryan Clark, Melissa Marie Elias (The Exorcism of Molly Hartley), Gil Hacohen, Marc Devigne, Matthew Marsden (Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid, Resident Evil: Extinction) and Claudette Mink (The Outer Limits (1998), R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour).
It was given a brief theatrical run by City Lights Pictures in January 2006.
Plot teaser:
Tamara Riley is a shy and unattractive but intelligent girl, with a fascination for witchcraft and a crush on Bill Natolly, her English teacher. When a critical article she writes about the school’s athletes is published, two of the star athletes, Shawn and Patrick, want revenge.
That night, a prank is orchestrated by Shawn and Patrick, along with Shawn’s girlfriend Kisha. Shawn calls Tamara, impersonating Mr. Natolly, and invites her to a motel room. A video camera is placed there and catches Tamara undressing. Shawn, Patrick, and Kisha watch this, along with three others who did not know about the prank (Chloe, Jesse, and Roger). Shawn comes in and taunts Tamara, and Tamara is accidentally killed in a struggle. Despite Chloe’s demands that they inform the police, she is blackmailed into helping bury Tamara. However, they are shocked when Tamara walks into class, looking more attractive than before…
Buy Tamara on DVD from Amazon.com
Reviews:
“The best part about the structure of Tamara is that you can’t predict who’s next on her (s)hit list, and even if you could, they don’t go down easy, much less the way you expect. The film also prides itself on not having over the top gore, although one well done puke shot is horrifying just for the thought behind it, and there is another scene which requires a stronger stomach. Still, for a horror-thriller that pretty much went right to video shelves in the states, Haft’s film is a guily pleasure and a golden nugget.” Darren Seeley, Choking on Popcorn
“It isn’t just the script and the effects that contribute to making Tamara a memorable viewing experience either. The performance turned in by its star and title character Jenna Dewan is truly top notch. To call her versatile would be an understatement as she essentially plays two roles in the film. The two sides of Tamara couldn’t be more different, and Dewan swings effortlessly back and forth between cold fish and white hot. Horny horror fans around the world will be happy to know that she spends the majority of her screen time developing a new scantily clad and deliciously wicked horror icon.” Steve Barton, Dread Central
“Actually, a better director could have improved things across the board. The script has some good ideas, but the direction is so bland it betrays them. One thing I did like was rather than Tamara running around with the ax she has on the cover and killing everyone herself, she makes them kill themselves (or each other). Some of the deaths, cheesily shot as they may be, are quite awesome, such as when she makes a guy think he was buried alive or makes another literally puke her guts out. Sweet!” Horror Movie a Day
“Ultimately though, Tamara comes with little substance beyond the slick packaging on screen and almost nothing that gives it a life beyond a piece of momentary passing popcorn of interest to its intended teen audience. The film’s one ace in the hole proves to be Jenna Dewan. The transformation from nerd girl to sexpot is by-the-book cliche but Dewan incarnates the latter half with a genuine sizzle, managing to make everything she says into a seductive come-on or a taunt.” Richard Scheib, Moria
Buy Tamara + Creep + Drive Thru + Boy Eats Girl on DVD from Amazon.com
Cast:
- Jenna Dewan as Tamara Riley
- Matthew Marsden as Mr. Bill Natolly
- Katie Stuart as Chloe
- Claudette Mink as Mrs. Allison Natolly
- Chad Faust as Jesse
- Melissa Elias as Kisha
- Gil Hacohen as Patrick
- Chris Sigurdson as Mr. Riley (Tamara’s father)
Wikipedia | IMDb | Animated gifs are courtesy of Beware the Horror blog
