6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 2.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Mandy Lane. Beautiful. Untouched. High school royalty waiting to be crowned. Since the dawn of Junior year, men have tried to possess her. Some have even died in reckless pursuit of this 16-year-old Texas angel. Chloe and Red invite Mandy out to Red's family ranch for the weekend. Mandy sees it as an excellent opportunity to cement her new friendships. The boys see it as an opportunity to finally get with Mandy Lane. Driving across the Texas landscape, the kids begin to gently chip away at the wall that surrounds her. Joints are smoked. A keg is stolen off a beer truck. Pills are crushed to fine powder and inhaled. Mandy observes it all with the gentle interest of a foreign tourist. And they love her for it. At the ranch, all the boys start to make their move--each one hoping to be the first to attain the unattainable Mandy Lane. However, as night falls and the booze, drugs, and hormones take over, things are said and advances made which can never be reversed. Suddenly, sweet Mandy finds herself pit in a brutal struggle for survival against someone whose interest she has rejected. Forget reading, writing and arithmetic; in high school, learning to be yourself and not succumbing to peer pressure is the ultimate test. And this is one exam that Mandy is determined not to fail.
Starring: Amber Heard, Anson Mount, Whitney Able, Michael Welch, Edwin HodgeHorror | 100% |
Thriller | 49% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH, Spanish
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Untouched, pure. Since the dawn of Junior year men have tried to possess her and, to date, all have failed.
When a movie's tagline says "It's the kind of party where everyone gets wasted," certain expectations are set into motion. Images of teenagers,
drunkenness, drugs, flirting, sex, mayhem, murder, and plenty of blood are conjured up by those simple little words, but so too is a terribly hopeless
dread of déjà vu, a sinking feeling of "here we go again" for another ride on the bloody, battered, and worn-out Teen Horror
merry-go-round that spins audiences around the same old tripe for the low cost of an inflated movie ticket or a budget Blu-ray release. To be sure,
All the
Boys Love Mandy Lane plops viewers on that ride, delivering a heaping helping of genre cliché but, to its credit, it cuts the spinning trip of
cinema
death short and ventures into territory where a hint of novelty and a whiff of fresh air may be enjoyed in the final act. This isn't cutting-edge Horror,
but it does, at least, try for something different when it realizes it has worn out its welcome from piling on general genre rubbish to very much
suspecting audiences.
Love. Me.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane arrives on Blu-ray with a good-looking, vintage-styled transfer. It's a bit grainy, not excessive, but even and rather gritty. Details aren't necessarily sharp, but they're well defined within the film's fairly bleak, slightly washed-out and bronzed appearance. Facial textures are nicely revealed, as are bales of hay, clothing lines, and accents in and around the country home. There are some softer shots, but again the overall appearance is one of a classic, gritty, Horror film. Colors, then, are hardly vibrant. Skin tones take on a slightly bronzed tint, and items like pink lingerie don't stand out as particularly lively, but not necessarily dull. There are a couple of random pops and speckles, but the image never contends with any compression artifacts. Overall, a very nice presentation from Anchor Bay.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane features a balanced and enjoyable DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The film opens with a big scream and some slightly rattly bass. Dialogue in the early goings comes across as a touch muddled and unbalanced but tightens up through most of the rest of the film. Music spreads nicely across the front and drifts into the rears for a rich, full, satisfying listen. Musical clarity also rates highly. The track delivers good touches of environmental ambience here and there, notably inside a girls' locker room and in country nighttime exteriors. Action sound effects enjoy plenty of power, including big, thunderous gunshots and screechy, loud fireworks. Other than a couple of minor issues with its dialogue, the track rates highly in all areas.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane contains only one supplement, an audio commentary track with Director Jonathan Levine. He discusses the film seven years after he's last seen it. He speaks on everything from the creation of the opening titles to various things that don't satisfy him after the fact. The track covers a large swath of interesting information, some in the way of technical specifics and other anecdotes from the shoot. Also discussed is the energy on the set, the performances, music, the picture's style, and plenty more traditional commentary subjects.
All the Boys Love Mandy Lane certainly won't win any awards for originality, despite a welcome retreat from convention in its final act. Sadly, a fine twist ending and a finale awash in daylight rather than covered by the shroud of darkness cannot offset a rather bland two-act setup that's straight out of Teen Slasher 101. It's certainly better than many of its kind, but Slasher fans shouldn't expect the next great genre film. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of All the Boys Love Mandy Lane features solid video, fine audio, and a commentary track. Definitely worth a rental and perhaps a purchase at an aggressive bargain price.
2009
2012
Unrated
2005
2010
2014
Collector's Edition
2019
1981
Unrated Director's Cut
2006
Limited Edition
1980
2019
Unrated Director's Cut
2009
2011
2006
Collector's Edition
1988
20th Anniversary Edition
2003
Director's Cut
2007
1982
Uncut
2013
2012
2018