Tamara

Directed by: Jeremy Haft

Release Date: 2005

Tamara tried to be the Carrie for the modern audience but was very unsuccessful.  Additionally, Carrie’s powers were inherent versus Tamara gaining power from a witchcraft book but I’m getting ahead of myself.

Tamara is a homely girl who lives with a negligible alcoholic father and reads books on witchcraft.  She’s a great writer who’s in love with her English teacher. 

Tamara gains some enemies due to comments aimed at the athletes in the school newspaper. These these bullies pull a prank that ends badly for them.

I don’t have to spell it out for you, so I won’t.  What makes the screenplay so uneven is the concept that she comes back to life for revenge!  There were so many opportunities to play around with this premise and I felt the writers, producers, and director(s) missed a huge opportunity to really take this film further. 

Upon reading up on this film, I learned there were constant re-writings which explains why the film itself is haphazard. The plot was riddled with cliches from other teen horror movies that at this point in the horror game, this story came across as hackneyed and trite.

If you are a fan of the Final Destination movies, the quality that writer Jeffrey Riddick infused in the first movie might entice you enough to watch Tamara for any redeemable quality. On the flip side, if you're not a fan of the franchise and cliched one note horror movies, steer clear of Tamara. Upon viewing, I couldn't remember one quality from the movie as a whole.

Better luck next time! 

The trailer below.