Tamara Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: The school outcast is killed during a prank and resurrects as a sexy demon.

Review: At first glance this may appear to be a "Jennifer's Body" ripoff, but actually it's more likely "Jennifer's Body" ripped this film off. In a lot of ways this is a tribute to '80s slashers with the classic plotline about a bullied teen accidently killed during high school hijinks. However, instead of a masked killer, the bullied teen comes back herself to take care of the idiots that wronged her. Obviously the heart of the story is the titular character played well by the alluring Jenna Dewan. I thought the Tamara character was looking pretty damn cute even in her dorky form, but good lord can she work a skirt in her undead form! It's so weird, I've seen Ms. Dewan in many other works, but she never looked so vivacious as she does in this film; she's even a throwaway character in "The Grudge 2." Anyway, Tamara is hated for whatever reason by her peers with the exception of a new girl, molested by her creepy, drunken dad since her mom died, and pretty much has a shitty life. It definitely helps that Tamara is a sympathetic character since it makes it easier to enjoy her revenge. The only things she has going for her are her intelligence and the support of her English teacher, Bill Natolly, played by Matthew Marsden, who encourages her to do an expose on the drug abuse of the football team. Obviously those douchebags don't like that and 3 of them hatch a plan to humiliate Tamara as revenge once they learn she has a crush on Bill. Luring in the new girl who likes Tamara, Chloe, with her boyfriend and some random audio/visual geek, they set up a party at a hotel with Tamara being filmed in the adjacent room. Basically, they trick Tamara into coming to the hotel where she thinks Bill is waiting for her and they will presumably have sex. Unbeknownst to the bullies is that Tamara had invoked a witch's spell to make Bill fall in love with her. I get that they wanted to create a contrast between Tamara in life and her resurrection, but seeing her strip down to lingerie (me likey!) in the dorky form only showed how no one that hot would be the school outcast! I should probably note that a movie like this would have seriously benefitted from exploiting its concept more for fan service, but there's no nudity (oh come on!). So once the jig is up and Tamara sees that Chloe was involved (which she was not aware of until she saw the footage of Tamara), she goes ballistic and attacks Chloe. In the struggle, Tamara hits her head on the side of a table and seemingly dies instantly. In typical "I Know What You Did Last Summer" fashion, the group agrees they have too much to lose by going to the police so they decide to bury Tamara's body; they threaten to turn on Chloe with the filmed fight if she confesses as well. The group attempts to carry on as usual until Tamara shows up very much alive with a brand new attitude, killer body, and sexy outfits galore! The group thinks Tamara must have merely survived the injury and try to avoid her despite her constant antagonization. Well it doesn't take long before Tamara starts to kill people in the group using her various new powers; she can gain control of a person with a touch and make them do and see whatever she wants. At the same time Tamara attempts to woo Bill more than ever making it very difficult for Bill to deny her when she comes on to him so seductively. Seeing that Bill resists despite her bodacious new looks, Tamara seeks to eliminate the source of the resistance, Bill's wife. For some idiotic reason, the bullies throw a party in which Tamara crashes intending to kill the last of her tormentors now that her dad is toast. Hilariously, Tamara makes two of the football players have sex as revenge while enthralling one of their girlfriends. Chloe and her boyfriend try to gain Bill's aide but the enthralled girlfriend alerts Tamara who sends the two lover boys to kill Bill's wife. Meanwhile, they discover that Tamara was resurrected by her love spell which binds her life to that of Bill's life meaning that she lives as long as Bill does. Once Bill's wife kills the lover boys, she is taken to the hospital where Tamara attacks, enthralling the staff to do her bidding, which leads to Chloe's boyfriend dying. Finally, Bill, his wife, Chloe, and Tamara all meet on the hospital's roof in which they attempt to reach the real Tamara inside. Tamara confesses she could have controlled Bill if she wanted but chose not to (which was a nice touch). As Tamara fails to control Chloe, she realizes what she has become and begins to whither. However, the evil is too strong, and Bill realizes the only way to end it is to kill himself which he does as he pulls Tamara off with him in an embrace. For some reason, the final scene shows the enthralled girlfriend stealing the spell book Tamara had used for whatever unknown reason...maybe to resurrect Tamara yet again. I definitely liked this film more than I probably should have. Maybe it was the sexy Ms. Dewan, the throwback vibe, the fact that things were never taken too seriously, or that Tamara was a likable villain, but I did feel this was a good movie. It's not great by any means with some lame effects, weak acting, and many stupid moments, but better than average. If you get the chance to check this one out, it's worth the time but don't go expecting much. Also, if you aren't the type to be amused by a hot girl in a short skirt, I'm sure you will think this film has significantly less to offer than I...but that's just how I roll! God, this would have made for one hell of a porno! Hmm...maybe I should get writing?

Notable Moment: When we first see Tamara return to school after being buried. So sexy!

Final Rating: 6/10

Ms. Dewan when in her demonic form: