Starring: Damian Maffei, Hannah Fierman, L.C. Holt
Directed by: L.C. Holt
Accompanied by the ever-growing issue of school bullying, Director L.C. Holt’s latest presentation TIME’S UP brings the matter of contention and lays it on the back-burner, then turns up the heat on the front-end of things with a revenge-styled slasher experience. Is it worth me hosing off the slab for a fresh start, or would it be easier to lay this one down in the stagnant, steaming pile of viscera? Hop on into the morgue and let’s see if this one’s worth the autopsy.
Set in a small Maine school around the turn of the new year, a group of faculty members are tossed into a vicious game of “who wants to confess their darkest secrets?”, all in the hopes of surviving long enough to make it into a fresh 12-month calendar year…odds are not that great, however. Our antagonist’s name is “Father Time”, and replete with creepy mask and sharp implement readily available, he’ll be the ringmaster in this circus of forgotten truths and skeletons in the closet. The idea here is to play along (as a viewer) to see whom the killer is, why is this game targeting this particular group of people…and my favorite: how much blood can be spilled during the movie’s runtime. Reuniting our favorite SLEEPAWAY CAMP duo: Felissa Rose & Jonathan Tiersten (albeit in different roles) – they’re both a refreshing watch in this sometimes confusing presentation.
Also along for the murder-ride is Damian Maffei, Dave Sheridan & Hannah Fierman – each one of these talents has their share of worthwhile piecing during this jaunt into revenge-killing (or is it justified homicide)? Any way you slice it, someone’s getting sliced and we’re just here to keep the blood from staining the screen. Stagnant jokes aside, TIME’S UP has its moments, with some decent kills (HOORAY FOR PRACTICAL FX!), but much of the plot is convoluted and the pacing at times can be dead-ended, even lagging mercilessly in spots. What hurts worse is the main twist is something that has been witnessed in the past, leaving a “what have you done for me lately” feel to it. Overall, I’m going to have to levy the executioner’s axe on this one and call it a “ONE & DONE.” I can think of many entertaining (and somewhat legal) things to do to ring in the New Year besides this misstep. For those of you who do enjoy a little blood with your midnight champagne toast, the film will be landing on Digital & VOD platforms July 18th.
