'Charon High School:' now there is a great start, Charon being the oarsman on the boat that crosses the rivers Styx and Acheron separating the living world from the underworld. The film is a murder elimination derby, so nice telegraphing.Twenty-something actors playing teen characters in high school gather for a field trip. Heather is pregnant by a not ready for fatherhood boy. Jesse's being treated badly by her father. Various bullying pairs are present. One of the girls is deaf.All the idiots on the bus have not completed a paper about the Industrial Revolution for one of their classes. The teacher makes everything clear: do the field trip without nonsense, then pass the class. Otherwise, fail.Mr. Steele gives the first lecture at a location filled with memorabilia from the 19th century part of the Industrial Revolution. He emphasizes the dangers of the iron horse.One of the kids sees a figure by the road on the way there. Mr. Steele later identifies him as Railroad Jack, who is a reaper of sorts. If one has seen him, then he has eyes on you, and so on.On the way back, the trouble starts. The bus crashes. The f word is issued liberally. The cell phone coverage fails. The teacher is gone. The bus driver is gone.Then the kids see the 'carnival.' Sure. The kid who warns about the man she kept seeing on the way is laughed down. They find no one, they find no telephone that works. Are these clues? They get a number of the attractions to operate, and have fun for a while, but then the fun ends.Will any of these deserving teens survive? -----Scores------Cinematography: 4/10 Camera shake, washed out appearance. Seems to be only VHS quality in sunlight as well.Sound: 7/10 I could make out the spoken words. The incidental music was not the best.Acting: 4/10 All the actors portraying teens gave poor performances. Why not hire absolute amateurs of the correct age and get better performances? Tony Todd was great as usual; that's what the +4 is for.Screenplay: 4/10 Teen murder elimination derby; better than some, worse than most.SFX: 0/10 Horrible.

This film drew me into the horror genre the way no other could I've always been more into SciFi but there was something about it that drew me in. was it the Star names attached to it? was it the haunting Music in the trailer? or was it the top showing at Canes Indie? whatever it was Ms. Seilhamers enticing script and characters (both those played by the stars we know and the ensemble who are sure to be stars in their own right)kept me on the edge of my seat and showed me that even the most innocent of us has a dark side. She follows a format that I've come to see as reminiscent of classic 80s slasher films but brings it to life (death?) with a formula all her own. I look forward to more to come from this director who i see has already made quite the splash in the writing field of this industry and the stars both current and future involved in this slasher-thriller masterpiece!

I'm usually into Sci-Fi/Action but a few horror films catch my eye and this is one of them. Great writing and totally hyped for a sequel. Tony Todd is always the master of creepiness. One just has to hear his voice and shivers abound. Read about the trials and tribulations they had filming this one and, despite the setbacks, it came together. You can tell the writer wanted to channel Hitchcock or Wes Craven. Let's just say you know these teenagers are going to get it (they always do) but "How" is the question. Hope this has a sequel and I'll want to see more gore. I hope they can get Tony Todd again or someone else who is as equally creepy.

So I just watched this movie. It wasn't particularly great, but I guess the short time Tony Todd is in the movie makes it worth it. Basically these high school kids get stuck on a Saturday morning field trip to make up for a writing assignment that they didn't do. None of them are particularly happy about it, but they don't want to repeat the grade. We're treated to quick introductions as to these "troubled" kids and their plights(Which on the by and by are never really used in the film, or even brought up later). Anyway, the kids end up going to this railroad museum which is where we get a small dose of Tony Todd and his wonderful creepiness, but alas it does not last. After leaving the museum the kid's bus crashes and they are suddenly alone the broken down bus in the middle of nowhere, when they see a carnival. Of course madness follows. The film is pretty predictable, has average to crappy acting, and all the effect budget pretty much goes into one thing(You'll know it when you see it). I have to admit the idea was good, but the lack of budget and poor execution brought the thing as a whole down. If you have nothing else to watch, or just watch pretty much any horror movie that comes out(I'm guilty of this) it may be an all right way to kill some time. Otherwise you may want to skip this one.