Many have probably wondered what ever happened to Dawson Creek star James Van Der Beek after the show ended. Sure he did a few films such as Varsity Blues, but after that the actor never really landed any big roles. Well, to say the least this film; Final Draft is what seems be his second horror in recent years that he has been involved with. That is to say if you would call this film a horror movie, because it’s more like a psychological thriller.
Final Draft’s box cover synopsis pretty much sums up the film up in a nutshell. However there are some minor details they left out. Pretty much the film is about a writer, Paul Twist (James Van Der Beek) whom is writing a screenplay based on a circus accident he witnessed when he was younger. During the performance a clown lit himself on fire while attempting to shoot fire from his mouth. The clown died with the laughter of children being the only thing he heard. So Paul decides to lock himself in an apartment and write a horror script about a clown that comes back years later and kills the kids who laughed at him while he died the blaze. However the script starts to become reality as Paul writes it, and he finds himself living within the nightmare on which he is putting to paper.
The script for this film is alright. The character development is pretty decent, but the plot moves very slow and is pretty much dialogue driven. The good thing about the way the characters are written in the film is that there really are not to many characters in which, as an audience we need to learn about. Pretty much the films main focus is Paul Twist, and script writer Darryn Lucio did a pretty good job at really focusing his attention on his lead character. However like I mentioned above the story moves very slowly, and has a lot of twists and turns that are sometimes hard to figure out. While I think the distribution company is trying to pawn off the film as horror it is more of a Hitchcocken like psychological thriller with horror twists.
The acting is really where the strength of the film lies. While their are not many actors in the film; and the film mainly focuses on one character, the performances of those involved were really good. James Van Der Beek is obviously the star of the film and he actually does a great job as writer Paul Twist. I think when most people see Van Der Beek in a role they automatically think of him as young high school student, this role is pretty much a break out performance for him as he shows that he can handle more serious roles that don’t involve him being in High School. The rest of the cast is pretty good as well, but it’s Van Der Beek who stands out the most in this film. On that note, I give Production Designer turned Director Jonathan Dueck some credit for his direction in his sophomore effort behind the camera. He did a great job directing his actors to give the best performances they can give.
The film production value is kind of up and down. While the set design and over all look of the film are alright it’s nothing big and great. The movie has kind of a very dark look to it, one that I’m sure is meant to relate to how Paul Twist feels about the script he’s writing However that’s also what I think adds to the slow moving plot and deters its audience from keeping focus on the subject at hand. There is really not much in terms of visual effects or make-up effects for that matter. Sure we get a half burned clown and a few bloody bodies here and there but nothing that’s really over the top or original.
Overall, Final Draft is an alright film. It’s move pretty slow, and at times becomes very hard to watch. However the acting and overall character development are what really help drive the film. If your into films that are more character driven than plot driven then this film might be for you. It’s by no means a great film, but it’s not a bad one either. it has it’s up and downs and I think it depends solely on the individual watching the film taste in movies if they are going to enjoy this film or not.
– Horror Bob
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- Interview with Andrew J. Rausch - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Rick Popko and Dan West - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Director Stevan Mena (Malevolence) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Screenwriter Jeffery Reddick (Day of the Dead 2007) - January 22, 2015
- Teleconference interview with Mick Garris (Masters of Horror) - January 22, 2015
- A Day at the Morgue with Corri English (Unrest) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Writer/Director Nacho Cerda (The Abandoned, Aftermath) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actress Thora Birch (Dark Corners, The Hole, American Beauty) - January 22, 2015
- Interview with Actor Jason Behr, Plus Skinwalkers Press Coverage - January 22, 2015
