Groupie (2010) Reviews

• Mark L. Lester's Comeback?

  sim872010-08-12

  Finally a new picture from the man that brought to us some great B-movies in the 80s and early 90s. So, what about the Lester-trademarks in this film? First, the plot is bluntly obvious. The whole "who" and "why" is clear from the first few minutes. I never watched a Lester-film for the plot though, but for the feel and make. But why do his recent works have to pretend to be thrillers then? I think this picture in particular would have worked out better if the obvious hadn't been camouflaged as a thriller but if the whole set-up just had been presented as an action/slasher movie. There were plenty of topless scenes as an end in itself. It's what we are used to from all the Lester classics. However, I missed the giant bullet holes from the old times. Even though there weren't any more than two shots fired in the whole movie, two elephant-size bullet holes would have contributed to the (actually very lame) end. Last but not least, the film has Eric Roberts in it! Rating +1 just for the sake of it.

• Settle for the soundtrack!!

  johannes2000-12011-02-15

  It's a bit hard to categorize this movie. For a horror or revenge movie it's too soft, for a thriller is doesn't have enough suspense. It's reasonably entertaining, because the premise is fairly original (young woman wants revenge on the members of a rock-group that she holds responsible for her little brothers death, due to a stampede after one of the group's concerts turned into chaos), and you want to find out if and how the (maniac) heroine gets her way. Biggest disappointment is the script. First of all there is no-one to relate to. Our sympathy should obviously lie with the girl who has all the right in the world to blame the boys of the band and their manager. But we all too soon find out that she's a psychopathic lunatic who soon looses all credibility. And did the writer fell asleep after the first ten pages? As in every other specimen of this genre the murders should get bolder and more spectacular with every new victim. But here they only grow more and more boring: a drowning, a knife-stab, an electrocution (by way of the guitar, okay, that's funny!) and the last three (!) all in the same extremely lame and uneventful way: by smearing faces with plaster (and making a mask out-of the imprint). The final show-down at the house of our rock-hero is ludicrous and as corny as can be, you can predict the whole scene, with the loyal (pregnant) wife shooting the lunatic and then the supposed corpse getting up in one final gasp of life to take the definite bullet. The acting is reasonable. The lead singer is played convincingly by Hal Ozsan, in the right mixture of care-free macho and sensitive songwriter. He's good-looking and I guess he's a good actor, but this is not the stage where he can show it. With Taryn Manning as the stalker-out-of-hell it's pretty much the same: you can tell that's she's far better than what they make her do here. But all the same she's convincing enough as the killer. Maybe her physique is not so threatening (rather petite, like a skinny Christina Ricci), but in a calm and deliberate way she radiates a lurking schizophrenia that at times comes out in sudden fits of actually hair-raising rage. Eric Roberts can play the band-manager with his eyes closed and his hands in his pockets, it's like he doesn't have to do anything, just be himself and still come-out perfect as the dominant, self-righteous money-maker. The other band-members and their groupies are just in to add-up to the body-count. Come to think of it: the whole project impressed me as if no-one really believed in it or wanted to take it seriously. Remains the question: why even bother? Anyway, for a positive closure, the musical score is absolutely great, this supposed band with actor Ozsan as their lead-singer really played, and boy, do the rock!!! And many of the songs appear to be written by Ozsan himself. So while the movie isn't one to think twice about, I'll definitely go and try to get hold of the sound-track!!

• enjoyable b grade movie

  loumiles-255682017-01-22

  Eric roberts, taryn manning, murder rock n roll sex, what could go wrong? nothing really, except the movie is hilariously bad, if your looking for a bit of a laugh, it hits the right notes, i swear eric roberts has pink eye for the first half, and ask's to be killed, and if he wants to keep acting, he must stay off the weed, the band were crappy, and to be honest, no one would put a curse on them. they are already cursed with there terrible songs.... and guys please leave pyrotechnics to KISS...+ i did not see David Copperfields name in the credits, yet somehow a guitar just explodes and disappears, then magically reappears. taryn taryn taryn. please make more movies like this as it stirs emotions in me that i just cant explain. watch

• About Groupie

  owlsong-12010-11-24

  I looked this movie just because it involves Eric Roberts, and I can say that this is not a very bad film with his participation. True, director Mark Lester in the past shot more exciting and high-quality films in this style. History, in my opinion, quite normal, but the script is incomplete, in a scenario there are many absurd moments. In general, the film made compressed, crumpled, ill-conceived. I think that in 90-th, this same director, this movie took a more dynamic and more artistic. I can only note that the young actors have worked very well, the girl who played a major role avenger, holding all the tension on the film itself. But Eric was not interested in working in this film, his power is not felt. Alas. Eric could save this movie.

• more a thriller than horror

  trashgang2011-09-12

  There was one person here in this flick that I thought you have it man, and still I knew his face, suddenly it was there, Scott Anthony Leet, main lead in Freeway Killer, and what a great movie that was. This one here was directed by Mark L. Lester, from Class Of 1984 and so many other well known flicks. Over here it was naturally sold under the horror genre but I don't really would classify it under that genre. I would rather say, thriller or suspense. It never is really bloody, and it's so easy to see who the killer is and what the reason is and what the main purpose of the killings are. The acting is okay and I even found Eric Roberts okay, he's not my favourite one but here he did okay. As I said, it's all predictable and naturally the the way they show the backstage area is exaggerated. I'm in the bizz and let me tell you that this isn't the real life. But I won't go in on that, there is a lot of juggs to see from the groupies and for the fans of Taryn Manning the main lead here there's a quick shot to be seen from her funbags. Nevertheless, I kept watching even as it is as I said so predictable. One to see and one to forget, just like a one day fly, just like so many rock bands.