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REED'S POINT: JOURNALISM STUDENT
SEEKS THE JERSEY DEVIL
by Thomas M. Sipos,
managing editor [April 13, 2022]
[HollywoodInvestigator.com]
Youth is the most perilous time of life. None are more likely to die
than the young. Whenever I see a group of teens or twentysomethings
leaving for a party, or road trip, or camping excursion, or foreign
travel, I know that death lies ahead. Oh to be old already!
Reed's Point opens with three recent high school grads boarding a
luxurious private bus owned by Kelsey's (Madison Ekstrand) dad (Joe
Estevez), who is giving the kids a lift. They're driving through the
New Jersey woods, an area allegedly inhabited by the legendary
Jersey Devil.
Kelsey is the rich girl in the group. Sarah (Sasha Anne) is Kelsey's
poor cousin. Sarah is the Good Girl, so her chances of survival are
high. She plans to be a journalism major in college, so we're supposed
to think she's smart. (Has she checked employment prospects for
journalism majors? Does anyone still hire journalism majors?)
Alex (Evan Adams) is Kelsey's boyfriend. He too plans to be a
journalism major. (After graduation, he and Sarah can flip burgers
together.) Alex is a soft-spoken Nice Guy. Deferential to woman and to
their fathers. He's a sweet, meek little man. Well, not all that
little. Evan Adams is tall and muscular. Yet he plays wimpy Alex, who
is wary of men both older and weaker than himself. He's been miscast
and poorly directed. Not his fault.
So these three young people board rich dad's bus. An accident occurs.
A few brief shots establish that someone -- or something?! --
attacked them. Sarah and Alex are the sole survivors.
A year later, Sarah and Alex are journalism majors in college. Sarah
is certain that Kelsey is still alive somewhere in those woods. Why?
Just a feeling. Makes no sense. The police scoured those woods but
were unable to find Kelsey.
Sarah smells a scope!
She returns to the New Jersey woods, wimpy Alex in tow. Alex doesn't
believe his former girlfriend is alive, but Nice Guys always hover
about the Good Girl, ready to protect and serve.
Our two budding journalists gather information from the local Sassy
Diner Waitress (always the best source for small town secrets), but
foolishly ignore the warnings of the local Wise Homeless Man. Instead,
they hire the local Creepy Gun-Toting Redneck as their guide through
the forest.
Steve the Creepy Redneck (Anthony Jensen) has fun scaring the two city
college kids with tales of the
Jersey Devil. Alex falls down a hill and gets his leg stuck in
tree branches. Wimpy and useless. Steve returns to his car
for a saw and never comes back. Sarah goes looking for help. (When
alone in the woods at night, it's always a good idea to split up.)
Sarah finds a lonely house in the woods, inhabited by a Creepy Nice
Guy (Clint Carmichael) with a huge
Jersey Devil collection. Then a bunch of other stuff happens.
Everyone -- Steve, Alex, Sarah, Kelsey, Sassy Diner Waitress
(Catherine Healy), the
Jersey Devil -- reunite, argue, split up, fight, escape, kill, and
die. (Not necessarily in that order.) Secrets are revealed. Then more
secrets are revealed. Who can one trust?
Reed's Point is an aggressively mediocre horror film. It has all
the elements used so many times before in previous horror films. Young
college kids. Rednecks with secrets. Monsters in the woods. Stupid
people wandering in the woods.
The acting ranges from serviceable to decent. The performances are not
amateur, but neither are they memorable or standout. The production
values are decent, despite some bloopers. (It's night outside the
bus's window, then bright daylight coming from another window, then
night again.) The gore is good.
Oh yes, about the
Jersey Devil. There's much talk in
Reed's Point about the legendary monster, but it doesn't appear
until the film's nearly over. Much build-up, little payoff. If the
Jersey Devil is your main reason for wanting to see
Reed's Point, you might be disappointed.
Some reviewers have complained that
Reed's Point is slow-moving and padded. It is that. It feels
longer than its 76 minutes. Hardcore horror fans might find it an
acceptable diversion if nothing else is available. But neither is it a
must-see. A bland but okay horror film.
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