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24%
Overall Rating
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Ranked #10,123
...out of 20,698 movies
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Five high school cheerleaders drive out to a rural mansion to spend the weekend. They hear a thirty year-old urban legend about a young boy who killed his family and used their blood in his juvenile artwork. While exploring an old farmhouse on the property they discover that the boy never left his home and has grown into a sick and twisted man.
--IMDb
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Review by Chad
Added: February 26, 2012
So, there I was, browsing through Netflix trying to find something interesting to watch. I eventually stumbled across A Brush with Death, a film that promised me cheerleaders, supernatural horror, haunted houses, and with an "MA" rating, I assumed that there would be plenty of blood and boobs to go along with it. I wasn't expecting a classic, but I was hoping for an entertaining ninety minutes in front of the television. How wrong I was.
The story finds five cheerleaders - Seanna McDonald, Missy Sturges, Lily Vu, Nikki Cordell, and Ali Thurlow - who plan on spending the weekend at the fancy house of a rich uncle. On the way to said house, they happen to notice a run-down, decrepit old house that looks to be on its last legs. That's going to come up later, naturally. "Later" is after the girls settle in, swim around in the pool for a bit, and meet two of the town's locals in stuttering Caleb (Max Taylor) and smooth-talking Rankin (Nicholls Melancon). The girls eventually learn about the house's history (some people were murdered in it), so of course, this prompts them to want to go spend the night in it for shits and giggles. They finally get there during the final ten minutes of the movie, but it wouldn't be any fun if I ruined that part of the movie, now would it?
The synopsis for the film told me that five cheerleaders were forced to spend the night in that house and that they encountered the ghosts of young boys who were murdered years ago. The only thing correct about that plot outline is the fact that, yes, the movie does feature five girls who claim to be cheerleaders in one line of the movie. There are no ghosts, there are no supernatural events, and shit, they don't even get to the house until the very end of the movie.
A Brush with Death is actually more of a slasher flick than a supernatural one, but even that doesn't help the film... and this is coming from a slasher nut. You see, it's a slasher film in which nobody dies (they only get some blood drained after being tied up), the killer is incredibly weak, and aside from bikinis and bras, there's not even any nudity to liven things up. It's just five girls having a slumber party, hearing some creepy local legends, hanging out with boys, and eventually poking around in a house for a while before the final twist... and the final twist isn't even that interesting.
Padding out the running time are plenty of flashbacks, flash-forwards (?), dream sequences, and assorted other clips that are honestly there for no good reason. Admittedly, some of the flashbacks that show the history of the house were done rather well, but there are only three of them and they by no means save the movie - they're just bright spots in what is otherwise a turd of a film.
Honestly, the only good thing that I can say about the movie is that the gals genuinely seemed to be vapid cheerleaders (good casting), and they looked good in their bikinis. If that sounds like a reason to pick this up, hey, knock yourself out. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a supernatural horror film, a slasher flick, or just an interesting horror movie to pass a couple of hours, stay far away from this one. 2/10.
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