Kristy (2014)

I was not exactly expecting much with a title as nondescript as "Kristy". There were also no big name actors to speak of it seems. The news that there were alternative titles like "Random" and "Satanic" was not too encouraging as well. I was just in the mood for a horror film one lazy afternoon so I went and watched this. Turns out it was not exactly horror, but it was not bad at all.

The first frame of the opening credits was the first surprise. It showed the TWC logo. So the Weinstein Company was actually involved with this film! That was a surprise because the publicity was so low key, almost non-existent. It did give me some positive feedback about the film I was about to watch though, as TWC is known for its Oscar quality films.

The film opens with the scene of a girl being killed by a couple of men wearing hoodies and left in a grassy field. She had a big slash across her neck and a letter K carved on her right cheek. Photos and video of this crime was uploaded onto the Internet, announcing that it was the time to kill Kristy. To kill Kristy is to kill God supposedly. "Kristy" it appears is any girl they think is "pretty, pure and blessed", and therefore should be hunted down and killed.

One Thanksgiving, Justine was the only girl left in their college campus as everyone else went home. When she went to the gas station to buy some supplies, she encounters a strange girl in a pink hoodie with piercings on her lip. When she got back to her college though, she became the target of Pink Hoodie and her group of her hoodie-wearing hoodlums all wanting to see her dead.

Haley Bennett should be a bigger star some day. She looks great and she did very well in the lead role of Justine. She was able to portray the fear and determination of her smart, never-say-die character. This was no timid damsel-in-distress here. This girl was determined to survive. However, as Justine was alone and outnumbered, will she survive or not?

I was surprised to see that Ashley Greene (better known as vampy vampire Alice Cullen in the "Twilight" films) as the main antagonist, with internet username DrkViolet801. Her face was barely seen at all, hidden by her pink hoodie. They could have used another no-name actress and we would not have known the difference.

This film is not exactly horror though. If you like gore, there was not too much of that as well. I would call it a suspense-thriller, and a good one at that. I felt the use of music, along with the whistling and the whispering, was very effective in creating the thickly tense atmosphere necessary for this film to succeed.

With a lot of suspension of disbelief, I actually liked this film as it is. This is not any deep film to analyze or think too much about. Just sit back and enjoy your racing pulse as you watch it. By the way, there is an extra scene after all the closing credits roll up, if you still care to wait up and watch it. 6/10.