Unter Freunden – Komm, lass uns spielen (2012)

Unter Freunden – Komm, lass uns spielen: Directed by Danielle Harris. With Alyssa Lobit, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn, Kamala Jones, AJ Bowen. A group of friends get together for a murder mystery party, but things take a dark turn when one hijacks the evening and is out for blood.

“Back when I was around 10-12 years old, in the glorious early nineties that was, I had two celebrity crushes. The first one was Christina Ricci, based on her inimitably stoic performance of Wednesday in u0026quot;The Addams Familyu0026quot;, and the other one was Danielle Harris, based on her appearances in the u0026quot;Halloweenu0026quot; sequels 4 and 5 (which I actually wasnu0026#39;t yet allowed to watch) and the Bruce Willis vehicle u0026quot;The Last Boy Scoutu0026quot;. I was completely mad about little Jamie Lloyd in her eerie jester costume, and that cherubic yet mysterious face always remained printed in my pre-adolescent mind. Then we didnu0026#39;t hear or see anything remarkable from Danielle Harris for about fifteen years, until she made a phenomenal horror comeback in Rob Zombieu0026#39;s u0026quot;Halloweenu0026quot;; ironically enough the remake of the original of the franchise that made her famous. Iu0026#39;m very happy that, since 2007, Danielle became a very frequent and reliable horror leading lady/scream queen. She starred in a handful of really entertaining movies (u0026quot;Hatchet IIu0026quot;, u0026quot;Stake Landu0026quot;, u0026quot;Blood Nightu0026quot;) as well as in a couple of disappointing duds (u0026quot;Shiveru0026quot;, u0026quot;Camp Dreadu0026quot;), and in 2012 she brought her career to the next level by making her debut as a director with u0026quot;Among Friendsu0026quot;. In all honesty I have to say that, based on the plot description or encountered reviews, I probably never would have bothered to seek out this film if it werenu0026#39;t for the fact that Danielle Harris directed it. u0026quot;Among Friendsu0026quot; objectively looks and sounds like a mundane and conventional slasher, and it really is just that. No wait, Iu0026#39;m mistaken… In a mundane and conventional slasher, most of the characters still get killed in a gory fashion, whereas in u0026quot;Among Friendsu0026quot; the vast majority of them only get wounded. A six-headed group of friends meet up at Bernadetteu0026#39;s house, in a fancy rented limousine, supposedly for a murder-themed game night. Before they are properly installed, though, it turns out that their hostess has a much more sadistic and realistic game in mind. They all wake up tied up and semi-paralyzed around the dinner table and get confronted with a whole lot of intrigues, hidden affairs, betrayal and dark secrets. Thereu0026#39;s a little bit of torture and mayhem to enjoy (for example half of a scalping), but the blood hunger of rabid horror junkies will definitely not be stilled. Most of the film is uninteresting drivel and bickering between unlikable characters you donu0026#39;t care for anyway. Danielle Harrisu0026#39; direction is competent, but she doesnu0026#39;t really put her mark. The performances vary from average to poor, and the proudly announced cameo appearances (Michael Biehn, Danielle Harris herself) are barely noticeable. Only Kane Hodder has a remotely fun supportive part as the limo driver. I hope Harris will take another shot at directing a horror movie, this time with a slightly better script.”