The Final, When High School is Torture

No cute puppies frolicking with chubby babies here.  No seashells or balloons, either. Fields of flowers or little girls in blue satin dresses?  Nope.  Wrong blog for that.  Today we have brutal and bloody torture.  In 2010's "The Final" we have an ominous dark tale of high school.  In an age when anti-bullying is the latest celebrity cause (God help us!), we take a look at some high school dweebs who put an end to the bullying in a most gory way.

A mysterious masquerade party is planned and all the cool kids received invitations.  Uh oh...it's a trap set up by the geeky kids who are commonly picked on by the in-crowd.  The geeks are led by sadist, Dane (Marc Donato).  Part religious freak and part Dr. Phibes, Dane has plans.  With several other un-cool classmates, they lure some really attractive kids to the party and knock them out with spiked punch.

After chaining up several cool jocks and cheerleader types, our fiends go to work.  What happens next is either a sadistic view of high school, a fantasy of those not in the in-crowd, or an orgasmic wish harbored by many who weren't able to get rid of their acne before college.  Fingers will be clipped, beautiful faces will be marred, and bear traps will be sprung.  As the torture and carnage increases, ask yourself if you are now pulling for the cool kids.  As Dane gets increasingly more sadistic, there might be a crack in his ranks that could helps the cool kids escape.

No humor in this film and the ending won't be comfort you.  "The Final" may be a warning, but for what?  Don't bully?  Or perhaps a bullying crowd is merely a horde that seized opportunity.  Might we all have evil bully inside us?  This one is hard to watch and contains very ominous scenes of torture and disfigurement.  In an  Oscar season that will shove scenes of "La La Land" at us at a non-stop pace, "The Final" may provide just the right balance. Directed by Joey Stewart, "The Final" has a message for each one of us...or perhaps a warning.