The Gore Spotlight
Save Youself
Directed by Ryan M. Andrews
A review by Stevie Kopas
I had the pleasure of viewing an advanced screener for Ryan M. Andrews’ latest horror flick, Save Yourself. The last Andrews film I watched was the zombie apocalypse movie Sick: Survive The Night, and while this new film shows a completely different side of the horror genre, it’s evident that Andrews had a hand in Save Yourself with its beautiful cinematography and well-executed shots of the leading ladies as they experience the true meaning of horror.
Save Yourself begins with an interesting twist that hooks the viewer from early on. We’re then introduced to an awesome cast of female leads (including Tristan Risk and Jessica Cameron) as they attend a screening of their soon-to-be successful horror film. After the screening we see the different girls as they interact with fans in different ways. A few of the fans stand out as creepy and pushy, wanting the group of ladies to stay and party, but alas, they must head off to Los Angeles and attend a Film Festival.
Later, after hitting the road, the girls find themselves at a rest stop, and Crystal, the director, has gone missing. It’s up to the rest of the crew to find Crystal and hit the road, but we know how this story goes. Soon enough, our cast of horror honeys will find themselves experiencing a true tale of terror, worse than anything they could have imagined on their own.
|
What I thought was so successful with Save Yourself was that each of the characters’ different personalities were allowed to develop naturally as the film progressed: the nervous writer, the promiscuous actress, the uptight director, etc. The film wasn’t filled with your typical stock character, and I enjoyed that. And it’s not often you find a horror film with a nearly all female cast. While I was wary at first that this might be detrimental with too much in-group girl drama, the writers were smart and made sure all the drama was from external sources only.
The antagonists of the film were just the right amount of creepy, campy, and crude. I really appreciated the subtle backstory we were given rather than a full-on “this is why we do what we do” from the killers. I think a lot of times horror films give too much away and don’t let the viewer come to their own conclusions, but Save Yourself hits the nail on the head. And I really thought the ending was well-executed. But you will not get any spoilers from me, you’ll definitely have to watch this one for yourself to find out what happens.
My only qualms with this film was that at just under 90 minutes, Save Yourself doesn’t quite get going until nearly 30 minutes in, and I would have appreciated a little more blood and gore throughout the film. When you’re dealing with a mad scientist, his crazy family, and women who are willing to fight for their lives, you expect a bit more from the death scenes. But honestly, the smart story makes up for the lack of gore, so it’s a small hump that’s easy to overlook.
Save Yourself is a psychological horror ride that you’ll definitely want to take. Andrews has done it again: a film with real characters in real scary situations. It’s not every day that you get a horror film that manages to pull off smart, sexy, and scary. This gets my stamp of approval ten-fold.
Stevie Kopas, HMS
The Gore Spotlight Menu