Shiver Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A serial killer relentlessly pursues his ideal victim in order to add her head to his growing collection.

Review: Time now to check off another film from Danielle Harris' resume as I review "Shiver;" which shouldn't be confused with the similarly titled "Shivers." God knows I can't go too long without watching one of Ms. Harris' films, or, for that matter, the films of Ami Dolenz, Haruka Ayase, etc.; it's actually a considerably long list of beloved babes! Anyway, this is another forgettable, Lifetime-esque movie with an okay story, but hilariously bad execution. It's a shame too, because this felt like a step up from Ms. Harris' usual low budget exploits. I think the main problem is that they didn't know when to wrap things up, and I felt there was a serious lack of a twist to spice things up. There's also a lot of filler despite the fact that they could have easily padded the film out with more creepy moments and backstory. Considering this was a 90 movie, you'd be annoyingly surprised by how little actually happens.

For some reason the film opens 12 years prior to the main events as we see the serial killer, who refers to himself as "the griffin," killing some little hotty. Surely, by establishing a scene in the past, that must hold some relevance to the central plot, right? Of course not! We are then introduced to our lead, Wendy, played by my dear Ms. Harris, who is set up to be a wimp in order for you to notice the not so drastic transition to becoming strong. I kept waiting for Wendy's past to cross with that of the killer, perhaps explaining why she seems sheltered, but I guess this was supposed to be character development? At the same time, I was expecting some visceral scenes showing us the deranged mind of the killer, but instead he seems to randomly choose girls and we hardly get an explanation concerning his motives except that he "had a rough childhood." Really--that's the best you got?! This is a guy who beheads his female victims, rapes their dead bodies, records their dying pleas, taunts the police, leaves griffin idols at the crime scenes, and seems to be fucking Houdini when it comes to escaping death, and all you've got is he had a fucking rough childhood?! Grrr! Basically, all that happens in this movie is that the killer comes after Wendy, she escapes, the police say she's fine, and then the killer pops up again. I'm serious, this exact scenario happens three times with a total of four encounters with the killer before he is finally killed. Obviously the killer is fixated on Wendy, because he can't seal the deal with killing her, but you'd think the police would keep an eye on her after the first debacle. And the only reason why the killer is after her to begin with is some half-assed explanation that he works at a jewelry story and goes after the ladies that shop there. How would no one have made that connection considering he goes after them the same night they buy something?! There's also some lame drama with Wendy's mom and the main detective and whatever. The movie tries to end with a fucking zinger too as if that was necessary. "We don't know how to end the movie even though it should have ended like 30 minutes ago"..."I know, add a fucking zinger shot as if the killer could conceivably be alive!" Even if he were alive, what, he's coming after Wendy for a fifth time?!

This movie started off with such promise and went downhill all too fast. The killer could have been memorable, if not awesome, if they had actually presented him as menacing and crazier; I'm dead serious, he reminded me more of Mr. Duncan from "Home Alone 2" than anything (and that's not who you want your killer to emulate). The background characters are all useless except to pad out the film with scenes that should have been about Wendy and the killer's past and/or connection; likewise, the opening scene should have been incorporated into the main plot at some point. I can understand a movie with the killer seeking out "the one that got away," but you can't have this same process repeated four times and call it a day. With all that said, it is mildly entertaining with a few cool moments and ideas. Of course the highlight for me is Ms. Harris herself which is the only reason I bothered to watch this. I can't recommend this unless you are accustomed to weak crime thrillers on par with Lifetime originals and/or a fan of Ms. Harris.

Notable Moment: Probably the opening kill. The girl was really cute and considering this scene is set 12 years earlier, you think it will have some relevance to the plot, but, alas, it does not.

Final Rating: 5/10