Although it is a bit of Carrie meets The Craft, Tamara has enough blood and gore packed in it to keep horror fans happy and entertained from start to finish.
The film was directed by Jeremy Haft and was written by Jeffrey Reddick (who also wrote the story for Final Destination). It stars Jenna Dewan as Tamara Riley – a smart and shy student who has a deadly crush on teacher Bill Natolly (Matthew Marsden) and an unhealthy knowledge of witchcraft. Tamara wants Mr. Natolly (who happens to be married) to fall hopelessly in love with her, and even starts to attempt a love spell to make sure it happens.
After she writes an article exposing steroid use by star athletes in school, the cool kids take it upon themselves to set her up and get revenge. They lure the naïve Tamara to a shady hotel under the false pretense that she will be in for a night of passion with Mr. Natolly.
When everything goes wrong (doesn’t it always in horror movies), Tamara ends up dead and buried – or at least the group thought that she was dead. When she shows up the next day for class looking hotter than hell, the group is in for a taste of their own medicine and the carnage is set to begin.
It seems Tamara started enough of that love spell for it to bring her back from the dead and give her the power to control anyone she touches. This is a power she uses to its fullest and goriest potential as she takes out each of the “cool” kids one by one.
Tamara has the needed ingredients for horror – hot actress and an axe
To be fair, one girl (and her boyfriend) in the group was involved in Tamara’s death by mistake, and was actually trying to stop the rest of them when Tamara “died.” As the kids start dropping like flies, she and her boyfriend rush to Mr. Natolly to try to figure a way to stop Tamara. This sets up even more carnage as Tamara sends some of her lust controlled lackeys to kill Natolly’s wife, and all end up at the local hospital for a final showdown.
Mrs. Natolly (who happens the be the school’s counselor) kills the two star athletes involved in Tamara’s death – in true horror fashion by impaling one with a broken shovel and shoving a screwdriver in the neck of the other one.
The movie then sees Tamara confront Natolly, his wife and Tamara’s friend on the roof of the hospital. She reveals how she could have controlled Natolly from the start, but wanted him to actually fall in love with her (see this is a love story, really). More deaths ensue, and the film ends nicely set up for a sequel – don’t all great horror films end that way.
Dewan does a solid job in the role and in keeping the shy Tamara drastically different from the sexpot undead Tamara. Her performance holds your attention early on in the film, and then hooks you as she gets her revenge. She does lose some focus towards the end (when the film becomes one death after the other), but brings it back in the final scene between Tamara and Natolly.
Tamara is an interesting movie that draws oblivious inspiration from Carrie. The character is tortured in school by the cool kids (they even have a locker room scene which will draw thoughts of the Stephen King classic). She comes from an abusive home, but the ultra-religious Piper Laurie character has been replaced by an alcoholic father. However, the film also has all the trappings of a modern teen horror film with lots of hot young actresses in really tight shirts and short skirts.
Tamara may borrow from past films, but it isn’t shy on the gore
The movie also breaks from some of the Carrie comparison in that you quickly loose sympathy for Tamara as she starts getting more evil with each killing. By the end of the movie, you are just waiting for her to finally “die” and have pretty much forgotten that she was halfway justified for wanting revenge on the other kids.
I will give the film kudos for the ending (before the set up for the sequel), and for not wimping out like so many modern horror films do.
The movie will also keep horror fans extremely happy with the amount of blood and gore that Haft and Reddick spill on the screen for the simple sake of entertainment. With a story that is extremely predictable, the director and writer make sure there are some surprises with how Tamara decides to get her revenge.
We get to see the “bad” kids destroy themselves through cutting out their own tongues or lopping off ears; getting so hungry that they start to eat their own fingers; or the classic stabbings with sharp knives.
Even the alcoholic father meets some Tamara justice as he begins to crave his beer so much that he eats the bottles. This big body count keeps the movie fun – if you are a bit sick and twisted.
The DVD lacks any real special features consisting of only commentary from Haft and Reddick; and several trailers for other releases.
The film really is a love story - sort of
Tamara is a fun, but predictable horror film. It borrows from past great horror movies, and makes sure to use enough gore shots to keep the audience entertained. I would recommend it to anyone wanting a somewhat light horror film that won’t really scare you, but won’t disappoint.
Tamara is now available at Amazon . As of yet, there is not a release date for the UK. Visit the DVD’s database for more information.
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