Short Review: 'Bad Reputation' (2005)

First of all, I have a huge amount of respect for anyone who manages to make a feature length film. The very endeavor of conceptualising, prepping, shooting and releasing a 90 minute-plus cinematic story is undoubtedly a monster challenge for all cast/crew involved and often constitutes years of blood, sweat and tears just to get the final product shown to anyone. No one sets out to make a bad movie, although occasionally efforts to achieve cult status or emulate prior classics turn sour – often times horribly sour. Former film critic and Cinefantastique contributor Jim Hemphill’s directorial debut Bad Reputation is in many ways a tribute to Meir Zarchi’s rape/revenge classic I Spit on Your Grave as well as countless slasher films of the 80s, however where those films were largely sincere in their nihilism and intent of purpose, Hemphill’s frustratingly uninspired and painfully amateurish feature instead comes across as an almost unbearably shallow imitation of a much better movie.

Michelle Rosen (Angelique Hennessey) is quite the loner and easily manipulated by the ‘cool’ crowd at her local high school. When resident jock Aaron (Jerad Anderson) convinces her to attend a house party she goes out and purchases a new dress with the hope of finally impressing her peers. When it becomes clear that Aaron has invited Michelle to make his girlfriend jealous he and his pals quickly take advantage of her naïveté’ by spiking her drink and sexually assaulting her behind closed doors. Branded a ‘slut’ the next day and ridiculed by both teacher and classmate, the soul-shattered Michelle decides to adopt her new reputation in order to seduce her attackers and exact bloody revenge.

When it comes down to it, Bad Reputation is a long student film camouflaged as an exploitation movie. The screenplay, performances, cinematography, editing etc, are all very rudimentary and noticeably underdeveloped - often to the point of being distracting and ultimately detrimental to the overall production. One could say the film’s lack of professionalism is somewhat justifiable given the fact movie marks the work of a first time director, however far more inventive and imaginative films have been made by newbies, many of which have gone on to become cult classics in their own right. Moreover, the film continually insults the viewer’s intelligence by making every plot point glaringly obvious (i.e., loser is teased by sexist assholes, loser is abused by sexist assholes, loser feels violated and even more worthless than before, loser gets feministic revenge on chauvinistic assholes) and never once makes an attempt to challenge you in any way by alternating the formula. Whether the filmmakers were actively aware of it or not, the transparency of the production and its lethargic approach to crafting an entertaining horror story make Bad Reputation a chore to sit through to say the least.

Despite the barrage of negatives, credit must be given to the film for at least attempting some degree of character development with regard to its lead heroine. Hemphill’s screenplay largely depicts all the male characters in the film as misogynistic and boorish by contrasting Michelle’s inexperience with their detestable attitudes toward women, thus instilling an immediate motivation for her eventual retribution. By positing Michelle as a virtual alien in a foreign planet of domineering men, her despondency and seclusion from the others is greatly exemplified and gives her a depth of character otherwise missing from the majority of the snobbish teens. Hennessey does the best she can with the limited material although her own inexperience as an actor is obvious from the get go and undermines any inherent subtlety that may have existed in the script prior to her performance.

There’s not much more to say about Bad Reputation other than the filmmakers may have chosen the most unfortunate title for their movie possible. I wish I could say more positive things about the film but at the same time I can’t lie and pretend that I was entertained for its 90 minute running time either. Speaking from a genre fan point of view I sincerely hope Hemphill’s next foray into horror is significantly more inspired and doesn’t take its audience for granted – something fright fans universally detest under any circumstance.



Dir: Jim Hemphill
Writer: Jim Hemphill
Cast: Angelique Hennessey, Jerad Anderson, Danielle Noble, Mark Kunzman
Country: USA
Run Time: 90mins
Rating: MA15+