The Final is a pretty low budget horror film, which could be described as 'post Hostel torture porn.' And, the first thing I have to say is that it appears not to be for everyone.I really liked it, but, if you read the numerous reviews, you'll find that just over fifty per cent seemed to really hate it. It's nothing that special, but I thought it was a nice enough idea to elevate it from the mounds of horror b-movies, infesting the DVD stores.It's about a group of bullied students who decide to take some - pretty deadly - revenge on their 'uber cool' tormentors, in the form of drugging them all at a party and then... let's just say they don't just tweet nasty messages about the bullies.However, don't go expecting piles and piles of blood and gore. The film is distinctly low budget and I'm guessing they couldn't afford to have too many realistic limbs flying in all directions. Therefore, what 'gore' there is, is implied and left to your imagination. However, despite the low budget, all the actors play their parts pretty well.I think you're enjoyment from the film will stem from whether you can identify with the psychotic 'killer' kids. It certainly makes a change to have some sympathy with the killers, rather than the victims.If you like the Hostel-type film and you're not bothered by a lack of gore in your horror films, then you might like The Final (if anything else, it's a stark warning not to bully!).

You know, if kids in fifth and sixth grades are doing drugs and sex then I think this movie should be required watching under "Walk a Mile in Another's Shoes" class.I'm a boomer who's let go of some ideological standards such as "violence begets violence" simply due to the real-life situations we all witness every day, either personally or by way of the media. If you're aware of the school massacres, postal rampages and D.C. sniper(s?), etc, then you know about the personalities which can be pushed right over the edge. I think shoving something like this down the throats of young people might just be the fastest way to increase bully-awareness in the bullies, themselves.One thing I missed in this telling was the fact that bullies often come from bullies. They need to exert power over others as power has been exerted over them, and it seems as though no one cares about breaking those cycles. So when parents of bullies get called to the school maybe they should be forced to watch this, too.Anyway, I felt conflicted when the revenge was a bit overboard; one minute I'm cheering them on and the next I'm not liking them at all. And the bit with the reporter at the end was either an analogy for the way parents and coworkers, etc act innocent and shocked or it was a stupid piece of writing. Either way, I thought it inappropriately placed within this movie; the subject of denial should get its own flick.So watch and enjoy, cringe, think, whatever. As for me I plan to have this available for my granddaughter ...

I love a good revenge fantasy wherein the viewer can put themselves in the shoes of the downtrodden as they dish out justice to deserving jerks, but it's unlikely that many people will experience such satisfaction with this particular film, the high-school outcasts who plan to get even with their tormentors going way too far in their quest for retribution. Not only does the film fail as a satisfying revenge flick, but it is also barely passes as a torture-porn style horror, with not nearly enough eye-watering graphic gore to satisfy the genre's bloodthirsty fans.Where the film works best is as a cautionary tale, showing exactly what can happen if one allows a desire for revenge to become all-consuming; the film makes it abundantly clear that such a path can only lead to suffering for ALL involved. Sadly, although the film might possibly work as a deterrent for potential vengeful nerds, I doubt that bullies will get the message that picking on the weak is wrong: most of them are far too stupid to grasp that concept.

OK, some of you will be offended by my thoughts about this film, and frankly I couldn't care less. Lets get that straight. I was bullied relentlessly as a kid all the way through my high school years for everything from my race, religion the way I spoke the fact that I was a kind of sort of nerd/jock, everything. This movie speaks to a part of me that was born out of that turmoil, a sick, twisted, sadistic side that only my former bullies have seen. Granted I never took it to the extent that the film shows, but I have broken my fair share of bones to drive home the point, that I wanted to be left alone. But I would be lying through my teeth if I said I hadn't dreamed of taking it further, and most of you would be too. The down trodden will always dream of rising to give the wicked their just due.As a theater geek, and aspiring actor, writer, and all around movie connoisseur I was very impressed with the story they were able to tell on a shoestring budget. The lack of flashy special effects creates an aura of realism. As well as leaving the more disturbing bits for your own imagination to run wild. And yes the script could have used some reworking and some of the actors are robotic. Dean could have been much better portrayed but Emily was without a doubt the best performer of the "freaks". The redhead "hot chick" was the best of the victims, she was excellent. The "jock" was the worst, very one dimensional. And more could have been done with the class clown character, the one that got the cattle gun to the face. Really would've liked to see more character development with the "freaks" because this is the type of movie where you almost find yourself rooting for them. A not so stereotypical portrayal of the popular kids would've also been appreciated, but I understand that they had to go with archetypes of these characters. I'd love to see a remake with a larger budget and better actors.The main reason why I loved this movie is because it's a horror movie that can actually happen. Strange creatures and monsters don't scare us any more because we know them not to be real. The truth is now being revealed in this day and age, the only real monsters are monsters of our own creation. For the most part, monsters who bring guns to school to kill their classmates, are created by the bullies who torment them day in and day out. And the school administrators who do nothing to stop the abuse when they see it going on. It's a glimpse into the dark side of the "duality of man" as RL Stevenson(Dr. Jekel and Mr. Hyde) put it. The scariest monster to ever walk this earth is man. And this movie illustrates that quite well.