Friends Don't Let Friends (2017)

Friends Don’t Let Friends: Directed by James S. ‘Jamie’ Brown. With Brittany Anne Woodford, Jenny Curtis, Kanin Guntzelman, Mark Hatfield. A violent breakup leaves one man dead and a group of friends dispatched into the desert to dispose of the evidence. Friendships are tested as the group push the boundaries of what can be done in the name of being there for a friend.

“If you have seen James Mangoldu0026#39;s excellent 2003 film u0026quot;Identityu0026quot; youu0026#39;ve basically seen this movie – except done correctly. This one starts decently, even if poorly shot with no production value to speak of, but the actors are game (credit to them for giving it their all) and Iu0026#39;m willing to cut a lot of slack while a movie gets going (called u0026quot;willing suspension of disbeliefu0026quot;). But then the friends get to the u0026quot;desertu0026quot; (the one with all the city lights a mile away in half the shots) and from that point on itu0026#39;s a continuous slide into awful. The filmmaker acts like having a twist at the end (or suggesting itu0026#39;s a dream or happening at the magical gates of hell – I wonu0026#39;t say what cuz that would be a spoiler), excuses every inconsistency or unbelievable behavior or stupid action, and even if youu0026#39;re lazy enough to insist it does, the audience still has to suffer through them! This flick is three fourths all the way; one fourth promising and three fourths lame. For every nice little visual there are countless shots that are poorly lit and unimaginative. Add in poor gore effects (for the record, you canu0026#39;t bite off a tongue with your mouth closed – molars donu0026#39;t work like that!) and, possibly, the very worst portrayal of a mental health care professional that has ever been written and you have this movie in a nutshell. The twist is tired and clumsy (unless done right) and so ends the movie making you regret suffering through it. If you like watching small flicks like this just to study everyplace they went wrong, give it a shot. Or if youu0026#39;re really into frustration and suffering – your own. They had a chance – decent premise and everything – but despite the actors best efforts the writer/director repeatedly shot his film in the foot and then forced us to watch it limp sadly away.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAnd Iu0026#39;d question ANY 10 star review that doesnu0026#39;t think thereu0026#39;s anything wrong with ANY film, let alone a micro-budget backyard production like this one…Iu0026#39;m just saying… either they worked on the film, know someone who worked on the film, or they didnu0026#39;t see it.”