There may not be a performance more fun in any horror film this year than the one that Soska Twin favorite, and industry veteran Katharine Isabelle, turns in here. It's a tour de force performance that instantly elevates the quality of the film and the likability of the traditionally despised slutty ditz. There is a charm about the Tamara character that Isabelle portrays that makes her so much more likable than she has any right to be. She should be annoying, irritable and obnoxious, the type of girl fans want to see offed by the killer. Instead, she brings so much life to the typically lifeless character that it is impossible to hate her. It is clear she is having fun and thus, viewers have fun watching her. That she has a fascination with killers, much like the very horror fans watching the flick, only further endears her to the audience. Isabelle hams it up early as Tamara but once the chaos starts and Goodnight begins picking off boys and girls, she plays a very convincing, terrified young woman. Her fascination with death and carnage was perfectly fine when it was an arm's length away but when it was real, when she was placed in a scenario in which fun was over and that death and carnage was very real and very present, she freaked out and Isabelle did an absolutely phenomenal job of portraying that. One of the best visuals in the entire film is the scene in which Tamara and boyfriend Carter are in the dark and the former lights matches to help provide some light. Isabelle works magic using only her eyes, telling a story through them and the rest of her facial expressions that no one else in the cast could ever hope to match. It is brilliant work in, arguably, the best scene of the movie.
Erik Beaston is a freelance pro wrestling writer who likes long walks in the park, dandelions and has not quite figured out that this introduction is not for Match.com. He resides in Parts Unknown, where he hosts weekly cookouts with Kane, The Ultimate Warrior, Papa Shango and The Boogeyman. Be jealous.
