In the grand tradition of teen horror films that gained momentum with the Stephen King classic Carrie comes a wickedly fun and entertaining tale from Lions Gate home entertainment.
Tamara is the story of Tamara Riley (Jenna Dewan), a plane Jane student who is as unpopular with the majority of her peers as she is infatuated with her teacher Mr. Natolly (Matthew Marsden), which is to say quite a bit.
When a recent story runs in the school paper which exposes key members of the schools teams as users of performance enhancing drugs, Tamara becomes the target of their wrath and an elaborate plan to humiliate her is put into motion.
The cruel prank is going as the group had planned when things suddenly go very wrong leaving Tamara dead and buried in an unmarked grave out in the woods.
Convinced that they have saved their futures and that nobody will miss the mousy Tamara, her tormentors are shocked when Tamara shows up in
class the following Monday and sporting a very seductive look as well as a very competent approach.
In short order, Tamara’s tormentors each fall under her spell and soon meet grisly fates as the new Tamara knows what she wants and will stop at nothing to get her Revenge as well as the very happily married Mr. Natolly.
Tamara is one of those rare films that is better than you would expect for a genre film. It has an engaging and fresh cast and a very interesting plot that hooks you and refrains from so many of the clichés that are common for horror films.
The film has its moments of gore, but good old fashioned human drama based on the interplay between the characters is what really makes this film work.
The acting in the film is also quite good for the genre as Jenna Dewan gives a captivating performance as both the mousy Tamara and the
deadly seductress she becomes.
f I had to find fault with the film it would be that in the films final act, Tamara becomes less of a sympathetic character and more of a straight villain as her actions go beyond revenge and into pure selfishness.
That being said, horror fans are going to love this one.
3.5 stars out of 5
