Well we got two reviews on this one. One liked it, but thought it could be improved a bit, and hopes it will be. And the other one didn't like it and seemed to have wanted a horror film. So remember, this is just TWO people's opinions on the film, and not the finished product. The first review has some light spoilers and the second one goes into it quite a bit more. So read only at your risk. Personally this is a film that I'm not reading my script to, because I want whatever happens to be a surprise... Of course that's your choice as well...

KILLING MRS. TINGLE TEST SCREENING

RACER X here, just back from the first test screening of Kevin Williamson's KILLING MRS. TINGLE, that took place in Seacacus, New Jersey. He wrote and directed it and I saw him there at the test screening.

For people not in the know, KILLING MRS. TINGLE is a black comedy starring Katie Holmes as Leigh Ann, Helen Mirren as Mrs. Tingle, Marissa Coughlan as Jo Lynn and Barry Watson of SEVENTH HEAVEN fame as Luke.

Scriptwise I'd have to say that this is a nice tightly plotted flick. Even more so than the script I read a few months ago. For those who read the script, The part of the drunken guy in bed with Mrs. Tingle was shifted over to the role of Coach Wenchell, played by Jeffrey Tambor. It made for a nice touch and better structure.

Katie was as good as she can be, but Marrisa stole the show with all the best lines. Her rendition of Linda Blair was unforgettable and ensures KILLING MRS. TINGLE a solid R rating, with is fine in my book.

As usual, they said the movie was a work in progress, and to be fair it has its problems.

1) You can tell this is Kevin's directing debut, it can be a bit shakey, but does the job.

2) Katie's past with Barry is never cleared up.

3) We never find out who Mrs. Tingle is a Mrs. to.

4) And the whole movie hinges on a crossbow that is introduced early on in a side-splitting scene that nicely echoes the ending (nice touch, Kevin), but no crossbow, no movie.

And 5), the biggie!

SPOILER!!!!!

The protagonist on the movie is basically responsible for the death of someone. At the end of the movie you can't help but feel that she is a murderer who has taken everything too lightly. This would be fine if they were making a dark, black comedy, but it felt like they were trying to stay away from the HEATHERS genre.

Here are two ways they can go:

1) DON'T!!!! This movie will do well with teens and young adults who are sick of Horror movies, if you aren't afraid of getting your character's hands dirty. Right now, the movie is going the John Hughes route...go the HEATHERS route. You'll be happy you did.

Or...

2) The audience needs to see some responsiblity taken by Holmes.

Either one...take your pick. Number 2 would be the easiest, but Number 1 would be the cleverest.

All in all, with a little work, KILLING MRS. TINGLE could go on to make mucho dinero at the box office. It's a fun original movie and I wish Kevin Williamson all the luck in the world.

The following review has a few spoilers here and there. But in case you don't want to know the plot he's quite a bit negative with the film. But then when you get right down to it, I believe that what we are getting is actually a review that might be a problem if MIRAMAX advertises this as "FROM THE WRITER OF SCREAM, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and THE FACULTY COMES THE LATEST TALE OF TEENAGE HORROR!" It sounds like this is a black comedy to me.

So here's the deal with Kevin Williamson's directorial debut:

It's not a horror movie! I mean there are some suspenseful parts, but it is certainly not a thriller. Basically, here's what happens (minor spoilers to follow):

In the first couple of minutes we are introduced to all of the important characters. First we've got Jo Lynn (played by the lovely Katie Holms) who finds out that she is the number two student in the grade. She has to finish number one so she can get a scholarship and go to Harvard. If she doesn't get the scholarship, she won't be able to pursue her dream of becoming a famous journalist. The second important person is Leigh Ann who wants to become a famous acctress and is Jo's best friend. Then there's Luke who wants Jo Lynn but Jo Lynn is repulsed by him and Leigh Ann wants him. Then, there's Trudy (I think that's her name) and she is number one in the class and will get the scholarship unless Jo Lynn get another point onto her average. Finally, there's Mrs. Tingle, the bitch of all bitches history teacher who isn't giving Jo Lynn the grade she needs to become valedictorian

So, now that we've established some characters, on to the plot! Basically, Luke manages to steal Tingle's final exam, and he shows it to Jo Lynn and Leigh Ann (this whole double name thing is annoying). Jo Lynn doesn't want to cheat, but she get caught holding the test by Mrs. Tingle. Mrs. Tingle goes to tell the principal, but he is out and won't be back until the next day. So, Mrs. Tingle goes home, set to have Jo Lynn expelled the next day and her academic career ruined forever. Luke, Jo and Leigh Ann go to Tingle's house that night, try to reason with her. That doesn't work so some violence ensues and Tingle ends up getting shot in the head with a crossbow (yes, a crossbow. It's explained). She is knocked unconsious (the arrow doesn't really penetrate her skull) and the three of them tie Tingle to her bed upstairs.

All of this happens in the first fifteen or twenty minutes of the film. With the teacher tied to a bed upstairs, there aren't so many options with the plot. Williamson tries to make it interesting by having Tingle play a little psychological warfare and trying to turn the three teens against each other. That's interesting for a little while, but almost a little too predictable. After Scream, I thought Williamson would be more clever. There are certainly suspensful moments (there are alot of things that aren't predictable) and there are a number of humorous moments (including a scene where Leigh Ann sees Tingle tied to the bed and is reminded of The Exorcist and proceeds to reenact some of the more famous scenes), but the whole premise is somewhat ridiculous and limiting. There are only so many things that can happen when the villian in the movie is tied to a bed.

On a whole, I'd say that the movie is more humorous than Scream, but there's no horror or thriller aspect. There's some suspense, but again, there's only so many things that Williamson can do with this premise. Helen Mirren gives the movie's best performance as Tingle. The other characters are pretty uninteresting. Jo Lynn is at first is morally opposed to cheating, but then sort of forgets about her morals and just sets out to do what she wants because she feels that Tingle deserves everything. Leigh Ann is so easily manipulated that she is either very very dumb or just a really unrealistic character. Luke isn't really much of a character. There isn't anything unique or interesting about his personality. He's just there to introduce some sexual friction and facilitate the plot development.

Just to conclude, uninteresting premise+dull and shallow characters (with the exception of Tingle)+bad ending (forgot to mention that before)-some humor-some suspenseful moments and a few plot twists=a below average movie that really doesn't readily belong in any genre. It wasn't a comedy! It wasn't a thriller! So what was it??

By the way, just as a side point, there were alot of references to class of '99, so this movie probably won't come out until May or June.