"THE FORSAKEN"
(2001) (Kerr Smith, Brendan Fehr) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Extreme	Extreme	*Heavy	Extreme
Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Heavy	Moderate	Heavy	*Heavy	Extreme
Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Extreme	Minor	Minor	Mild	Extreme

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QUICK TAKE:

Horror: A young film editor reluctantly joins forces with a vampire hunter as both try to track down and kill a master vampire before they turn into such creatures themselves.

PLOT:

Sean (KERR SMITH) is a young film editor who's agreed to take a job driving another person's Mercedes from California to Florida so that he can attend his sister's wedding. Although told that he must make the trip alone, Sean discovers that he's lost his wallet and thus picks up Nick (BRENDAN FEHR), a hitchhiker, who agrees to pay for gas.

As they begin their journey, they spot Megan (IZABELLA MIKO), a seemingly confused and dazed young woman and Nick immediately knows what's wrong with her. It seems that she's been bitten by a vampire and will soon turn into one if Nick doesn't intervene. He knows this because he too has been bitten in the past and has been holding off the transformation with certain drugs while he tries to find the vampire at the top of the food chain. If he can manage to kill that creature, then all of those down the line who were bitten by him, or others infected by him, will be freed from their curse.

Sean doesn't believe any of this until Megan bites him as they try to constrain her, thus infecting him as well. With time running out and the vampires - including leader Kit (JOHNATHON SCHAECH), his lover Cym (PHINA ORUCHE), and their daytime driver Pen (SIMON REX) - wanting to find and finish off Megan, Sean and Nick do what they can to avoid their attacks, and in turn, kill Kit to prevent them from turning into vampires themselves.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

If they're into vampire movies, they just might.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R

For strong violence/gore, language and sexuality.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

KERR SMITH plays a young film editor whose life is turned upside down when he picks up several people, who've been infected by vampires, while driving across the country. He too becomes infected and then must avoid and do battle with the vampires while trying to kill the head one. He also uses strong profanity.

BRENDAN FEHR plays another man who's been infected by the vampires and wants to find and kill the main one before he becomes a complete one himself. He also uses strong profanity.

IZABELLA MIKO plays a dazed, confused and panicked woman they pick up (who's also infected) and try to protect from the vampires.

JOHNATHON SCHAECH plays the head vampire who has sex with Cym, kills others and uses strong profanity.

PHINA ORUCHE plays his vampire lover with whom he has sex.

SIMON REX plays a partial vampire and their daytime driver who also uses strong profanity.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

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Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

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OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

Here's a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated horror flick. Violence is rated as extreme as various people and/or vampires are wounded or killed in various fashions including by being shot, burned, decapitated, electrocuted, hit with a shovel, having their throats slit or hearts pulled out of their chests, or burning up and exploding from contact with sunlight (those would be the vampires). Several buildings also explode. Many of those scenes have bloody/gory results, and some of them and others (including some jump scenes) may be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to viewers.

Profanity consists of at least 66 "f" words, while plenty of other expletives and colorful phrases are also used. Some sexually related dialogue is uttered, while a bloody sexual encounter takes place between two vampires (with movement, sounds and brief nudity) and another is heard through a motel wall. Some nude women are seen in bed with one man (no activity), and various instances of other nudity are also present (including a woman who partially caresses her bare breasts while washing blood from her body in the shower and another who flashes her bare breasts at a man while driving by in her car).

Various characters drink, one minor one appears to snort cocaine, and various instances of imitative behavior are present. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what occurs in the film.

For those concerned with the repetitive flashing of bright lights on the screen, several instances of that occur later in the film during some thunderstorm scenes.

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ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE

Nick drinks a beer while Sean drives.

People drink in a bar/diner.

A bus driver thinks that Megan might be stoned (due to the way she's acting, but she's not).

Some people drink at a party where Kit and others show up and ask if they can join them and have some beer. One of the men then shakes a can of beer and sprays it into Kit's face.

Nick sedates Megan with an injection of morphine.

Pen drinks a beer while driving.

A miscellaneous man appears to snort some cocaine offered by another man and they appear to have been drinking as well.

BLOOD/GORE

In various quick images that appear on the screen, we see blood splatter onto a lampshade. We then see Megan with blood all over her as she rinses some of it off her nude body in the shower.

We see some blood on a rest stop sink as well as on the bottom of its soap dispenser.

Kit suddenly thrusts his hand into a man's chest and yanks out his heart (not seen in one continuous or easy to view scene) that we then see him holding (and it and his hand are bloody). We also see some blood come out of the victim's mouth during this.

Blood runs out of Megan's nose and into the water in her bathtub and we then see that her mouth is full of blood as well.

We see a needle (of morphine) being injected into a person's arm.

A vampire's face is bloody after being hit several times there with a shovel. She then catches on fire and explodes in a meaty mess after coming into contact with sunlight.

Sean begins to vomit and we see blood in and coming from his mouth.

A man is bloody after being shot (blood comes out when he's hit and there's some on his car). After gasoline is poured onto him, we briefly see him partially engulfed in flames.

As Kit and Cym have sex in the backseat of their car, we see that some blood is involved/on them during that (they have blood all over their faces).

A vampire slices a man's throat with a knife, causing blood to pour out and Cym to then feed at his neck (with related sounds and blood on the ground, his neck and clothes and her mouth).

Sean sees what looks like a jar of eyeballs.

We see various brief and disorienting shots of violence or the aftermath of violence that include some bloody images.

A vampire's skin is partially charred/burned after she comes into contact with a live power line.

We see some blood on Nick's shirt from where he was shot.

Sean fires a shot that decapitates a vampire and we briefly see the head roll away.

There's lots of blood on a vampire's clothing, as well as on Sean's face.

A vampire is very bloody after being shot and is then seen catching on fire.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE

The vampires obviously have both in a traditional vampire sense of killing various people.

Some young partygoers have both toward Kit and his friends when they try to crash their outdoor party.

FRIGHTENING SCENES

Scenes listed under "Violence" and/or "Blood/Gore" may also be unsettling, suspenseful or scary to some viewers. In addition, for those with low tolerance levels/thresholds for violent or potentially scary films, most of the entire film will potentially be the same for them, although the traditional supernatural/vampire material is far more benign than in most such pictures.

Nick and Sean find Kit and his gang hanging around their car at night (and since we anticipate that something bad might happen, the scene might be tense for some viewers).

The frightened/shell-shocked way in which Megan acts and reacts to Sean and Nick trying to help her - in several scenes -- might be disturbing to some viewers.

Nick and Sean find the vampires on their tail at night as they speed down the desert highway, and they have various "harrowing" encounters with them while trying to lose them (the vampires shooting at them, then coming back for them, etc.).

Kit picks up a rattlesnake and purposefully places its fangs onto the veins in his arm so that he'll get a rush from its poison going into his body.

Kit holds a gun to a man's head and then puts it into his mouth as he prepares to kill him (we only hear the shot).

Sean can't get their car into gear as they see vehicles carrying the vampires approaching at night.

Sean decides to "play chicken" with two approaching vehicles on the highway at night and ends up driving between the two of them. Later, he races their car through a small opening between two other parked vehicles.

Sean has a series of odd and disorienting visions, as does Megan (that include brief images of violence and a woman pointing a gun at her).

The ending of the film, where the various characters do battle with and/or try to hide from the vampires, may be suspenseful or scary to some viewers (especially when a tarantula craws up a woman's arm as she tries to be quiet and hide).

GUNS/WEAPONS

Handguns/Shotguns/Switchblades/Knife: Used to shoot and wound or kill people and vampires. See "Violence" for details.

Handgun: Fired into the air by a man at a party.

An old western playing on TV briefly shows a traditional shootout.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR

Phrases: "F*cked me over real good," "F*ck around" (nonsexual), "F*ck you," "F*cking A," "F*cked" (nonsexual), "Get the f*cking car," "What the f*ck /are you doing/is he doing/are we doing?" "Who the f*ck are you?" "Shut the f*ck up," "What the f*ck did you do that for?" "Shut your f*cking face," "F*cking whore," "(That's) F*cked up," "You've got to be f*cking kidding me," "Let's get the f*ck out of here," "Piece of sh*t," "Got to sh*t," "Holy sh*t," "Sh*thole," "I don't give a sh*t," "Sh*t happens," "Check that sh*t out," "Scared sh*tless," "Bullsh*t," "Heavy sh*t," "Oh, sh*t," "You've got to be sh*tting me," "No sh*t," "Sure as sh*t," "Horsesh*t," "I don't give a sh*t," "Come on, you p*ssy," "Ream my ass," "Bitch" (said many times), "What the hell /is he doing/is this?" "None of your G*ddamn business," "Ball buster," "Who the hell..." "Pissed," "Take a piss," "Shut up," "Freaks," "Give a rat's ass," "Skinny little ass," "Piss off," "Retard" and "Kicks ass."

While driving down the road, a stranger playfully flashes her bare breasts to Sean.

Told to get rid of a beer he's drinking while Sean drives, Nick throws it from their moving car (littering).

A man fires a gun into the air at an outdoor party.

A man shakes a can of beer and then sprays it into Kit's face.

Kit picks up a rattlesnake and purposefully places its fangs onto the veins in his arm so that he'll get a rush from its poison going into his body.

Sean decides to "play chicken" with two approaching vehicles on the highway at night and ends up driving between the two of them. Later, he races their car through a small opening between two other parked vehicles.

JUMP SCENES

A sudden loud sound in a somewhat quiet scene might make some viewers jump.

A vampire suddenly jumps out of a car's trunk at Sean.

A person suddenly surprises another person.

A dog suddenly surprises Nick and Sean.

A gunshot suddenly blasts through a hose.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)

A heavy amount of suspenseful/scary music plays during the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)

Some songs have lyrics that can't be understood, thus offering the possibility of them containing objectionable lyrics. We did hear what sounded like 1 use of the "f" word (with "mother") in one song.

PROFANITY

At least 66 "f" words (5 used with "mother"), 39 "s" words, 5 slang terms using female genitals ("p*ssy") 2 slang terms using male genitals ("d*ck"), 15 asses (2 used with "hole"), 11 hells, 6 damns, 3 S.O.B.s and 5 uses of "G-damn" and 1 use each of "Jesus," "Swear to God" and "Oh Jesus Christ" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY

We see Megan with blood all over her as she rinses some of it off her nude body in the shower where we see her bare breasts that she somewhat caresses as the blood runs off them.

A movie poster in an office shows a woman in a thong-like bottom that shows most of her bare butt.

While driving down the road, a stranger playfully flashes her bare breasts to Sean.

While staying in a sleazy motel, Sean hears muffled sounds coming from next door that sound sexual in nature (it sounds like a woman pleasurably saying, "Oh yeah").

Cym shows some cleavage in her crop top and acts somewhat sensuously as she kisses/nuzzles Kit's neck.

Nick, who's acting jaded, makes some comment about Monica (Lewinsky) sucking Bill's (Clinton) penis (calling it a little red something).

Nick checks Megan's body for vampire bite marks and thus removes her clothes during this search as she lies on a bed unconscious. Accordingly, we see her bare breasts once he removes her top, and then her in her panties once he removes her jeans. He then starts to lower those panties when he discovers the bite marks just below the top of them. As he then carries and places her in a bathtub (still in her panties), we see many views of her bare breasts.

A man warns another man that he's going to shoot his own "d*ck" off with a gun, causing a woman to jokingly chime in that it won't take much to do that.

We briefly see two nude women in bed with Kit (they're all awakened by Pen backing their car through a wall) and we see their bare breasts and butts.

We hear some sexual sounds from Kit and Cym in the backseat of their car (as it rocks back and forth) and then see a partial shot of her on top of him (at night and dimly lit so we can't really see much although her breasts are briefly visible), with some blood involved between them.

Some men repeatedly and enthusiastically yell out "p*ssy" when they see Cym standing out in the desert by her car.

Megan has a vision of Kit going down to bite her along her panty line.

SMOKING

A man carries an unlit cigar, while we see a lit cigarette in an ashtray in another scene.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES

Sean mentions that his father doesn't know he exists and that he walked out on his mother when she was pregnant with Sean.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT

Vampires and their symbolic relationship with sex and sexual diseases.

Picking up hitchhikers and/or hitchhiking with strangers.

VIOLENCE

An old western playing on TV briefly shows a traditional shootout.

Kit suddenly thrusts his hand into a man's chest and yanks out his heart (not seen in one continuous or easy to view scene) that we then see him holding (and it and his hand are bloody).

Megan apparently bites Sean on the hand while he and Nick try to control her during another of her panic-like attacks.

From a distance, we see a car pull up and one of its occupants shoots a man dead (no blood).

Nick takes a shovel and hits Pen on the head with it as he lies on the hood of the vampire's car. A vampire then suddenly jumps out of the car's trunk at Sean and Nick clocks her on the head with the shovel. When that doesn't stop her, he hits her with the shovel again and she then catches on fire (from contact with sunlight), screams in pain, and then explodes in a meaty mess.

Pen backs the vampire's car through a motel wall.

A vampire or would-be vampire pulls out a switchblade and we hear a woman scream as he apparently kills her with it.

A motel blows up from a gas leak.

Sean grabs Nick and pushes him back against a car.

After a state trooper pulls over the vampire's car, he wants to look into the trunk. When he does, one of the vampires in it shoots him with a shotgun, sending his body flying through the air and back onto the hood of his car. Pen then pours gasoline onto the car and injured trooper and lights both on fire (we briefly see the trooper partially engulfed in flames).

A vampire shoots at Sean and Nick's car, blowing off the back bumper.

Nick punches Megan and knocks her out (to get control over her since she's acting panicked and running away).

The vampires shoot a handgun and shotgun at Nick and Sean.

A vampire slices a man's throat with a knife, causing blood to pour out and Cym to then feed at his neck (with related sounds).

Kit holds a gun to a man's head and then puts it into his mouth as he prepares to kill him (we only hear the shot).

Sean damages the car he's driving by "playing chicken" with two other cars (and driving between them) and then driving through two closely parked vehicles. A truck that's pursuing him then crashes into one of those parked vehicles, resulting in a huge explosion and the presumed death of that driver.

A woman holds her shotgun on Nick, Sean and Megan before allowing them into her place.

Megan has some visions of briefly seen violence (including a person lying on the floor with a knife in them with blood).

Sean, Nick, Megan and another woman try to find cover as various gunshots blast through a house they're in. Nick shoots a vampire and appears to be hit himself. They then shoot up through some floorboards trying to hit Cym who ends up falling through a window, down and off the roof and onto the ground where she comes into contact with a live electric wire that partially electrocutes her and fries her skin.

Sean fires a shot that decapitates a vampire.

Nick shoots another vampire many times, but it doesn't kill him. Instead, that vampire picks up Sean by the neck and punches him in the face several faces, with the last one sending him to the ground.

Sean drives a car into a house, knocking a vampire down from the floor above and then pins him back against a wall.

Sean shoots a vampire who then catches on fire upon coming into contact with sunlight.

An explosion rips through a building.

Reviewed April 26, 2001 / Posted April 27, 2001

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