Tormented (From Herald Series)

Tormented

7:40am Thursday 21st May 2009

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Tormented (15), directed by Jon Wright, is a tongue-in-cheek horror set in a British comprehensive school where a gang of abusive students gets its just desserts at the hands of a most unlikely avenger. Not a demented dinner lady, fed up with gripes about her chicken cobbler, but the spectre of a bullied boy, who skulks in classrooms, toilets and corridors, picking off his prey one at a time.

Unfortunately, the gore – and there is plenty, including some bloodthirsty dismemberment – sits uncomfortably next to the largely intentional giggles. Screenwriter Stephen Prentice fails to seamlessly meld the two strands, spinning a familiar and predictable yarn in which characters of dubious morals are marked for death before the first clumsy line of dialogue trips off their pierced tongues.

Academically-blessed head girl Justine (Tuppence Middleton) leads the funeral tributes to classmate Darren Mullet (Calvin Dean), unaware of the circumstances surrounding his death.

The truth emerges, little by little, when teenager charmer Alexis (Dimitri Leonidas) makes romantic overtures to Justine and introduces her to the other members of his gang.

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