Gorehounds Unite!

A group of teenage boys out to give their girlfriends a good scare on Halloween/Homecoming night head to an abandoned house in an out-of-the-way grapefruit orchard where they reveal the story of a real life urban legend “THE CARETAKER.”

This classic teen scream hosts an ensemble cast of ridiculously good looking kids and is spiced with an outlandish teacher (Jennifer Tilly) obsessed with getting famous by sleeping with a student and an over-protective father (Judd Nelson). Jonathan Breck (Jeepers Creepers) gives a delightfully creepy performance as the crazy Limo Driver and Jim Lang (John Carpenter’s Mouth of Madness, Body Bags) delivers an original score sure to make you jump out of your seat.

 When I opened my mail and saw the beautiful Jennifer Tilly staring back at me on the DVD cover for The Caretaker I immediatly had to watch the film as I am a big fan of her and her career. I was a little dismayed when I read the release and saw it was a Teen/Horror Comedy marketed toward the teenybopper crowd.

 These films usually either are blatant rip offs of Scream or I Know What You Did Last Summer or a watered down horror flick with a cast of good looking flavor of the month teens regardless of acting talent.

Luckily for this film, while it is some of the above, it's saved by a very talented cast and crew and has some genuine campy goodness throughout that is highlighted by Jennifer Tilly's role of a horny School Teacher (why the hell didnt I have a teacher that looked and acted like this????? Dammit!) who wants to sleep with her students to become famous and Judd Nelson (yes hes still acting!) as a very overprotective father. Jennifer Tilly's performance in The Caretaker will leave the viewer breathless and help cement her hold on the "Scream Queen" of the new millenium and beyond.

 One of the other cameos was Jonathan Breck (the Creeper himself) out of make-up and creepy as hell as The Limo Driver. A very effective score from Jiom Lang helps to highlight the creepier and more atmospheric parts of the film. The Caretaker cast is rounded out by Andrew St.John, Jennifer Freeman form "My wife and Kids" as well as a host of other way too beautiful up and comers.

 So weve already explained that this is a film geared toward teens and their dates but fear not......While the gore is downplayed in this one there is still one scene with ample nudity. In fact this scene contains the Boob-o-Lantern which is reason enough to go out and buy this DVD.....I cant even explain it without laughing my ass off so just trust me you gotta see it.

  The Caretaker legend is an interesting if not cliched idea and it really would have been better suited to a much larger set. The orchard is a good touch but the house it takes place in is way to small and I would have like to see a similarly abandoned mansion or at the very least larger house. The Caretaker himself is a decent character but I found alot of similaritys to the killer in "I Know What You Did Last Summer".  He's played well but could have been used to more effect.......

 The film looks good and is well directed and shot but I would have liked to see a little more originality in the writing and backstory. This can probably be attributed to the fact that it's got a pretty small budget and I have the feeling if there had been more money we would have seen alot more.

 The films major failings tend to be the fact that at the end of the day it's really not very original and it tends to borrow from alot of other similarly themed films. This will be a popular film for younger couples and fans of these type of teen slasher films but most older Horror fans will tend to feel somewhat cheated by the lack of story and gore. This coupled with the fact that the film tends to lose steam after a pretty decent start will  split alot of peoples opinion of it.

 This isnt to say that "The Caretaker" is a bad film as it tends to be slightly above average when compared to other films of this sort and it features alot of things to like. This is the perfect film to watch with your signifigant other who may not be into more hardcore horror fare. This film is perfect to bridge the generation gap between you and your teenage child as it has something for everyone to enjoy. 

 For the older and more experienced viewers out there it will tend to be a more hollow experience but it offers up enough bright spots to make it worth your time to hunt this film down.  The perfect performances from Jennifer Tilly and Jonathan Breck alone make this film well worth your time. Jennifer Tillys performance alone makes this one a must buy! So what are you waiting for?

Visit the filmmakers : www.turkeyranchproductions.com

 Or at their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/thecaretakermovie

RATING:

3 out of 5 Severed Heads