Notes
My quick rating - 2.2/10. Well, it seems the perfect summer is over, and so is my patience. Open promises an isolated camp slasher, but apparently forgot to check Google Maps first. In several scenes, you can quite literally see neighboring houses, lawn chairs, and the faint glow of suburban porch lights. So much for “isolated camp.”
From the jump, this has student film scribbled across every iPhone frame. The dialogue is so stiff you could use the script pages to build a scaffold. I suspect the cast was poached directly from a high school drama class still learning the difference between “emotion” and “blank stare.” Also, what kind of camp is this supposed to be? Everyone is the same age. Are they counselors, campers, or did someone’s parents just let them all hang out unsupervised with craft supplies and a GoPro?
Speaking of questionable filmmaking choices, they rely on the old “blue filter = night” trick, except it’s so heavy-handed it looks like the Smurfs took over the lighting department. I’m guessing they weren’t allowed to film after 8 pm—bedtimes are serious business when your entire cast still gets dropped off by Mom.
The first big kill? A stabbing that looks like it was done with an After Effects plug-in found on a free trial. Then there’s a decapitation that would flunk a physics class—heads don’t just hover in midair without rolling off. Although credit where it’s due: someone tried. With a budget of roughly zero, they still managed creative gore, even if it all looks like it was shot in someone’s backyard pool (probably was).
And let’s not skip the important social issues—because in this breezy 64-minute runtime, David Saban decided it was absolutely critical to wedge in a coming-out talk. The two characters sit on a log discussing being gay while their buddy’s freshly severed head sits three feet away, silently judging them. It’s almost profound in how tone-deaf it is. If you miss it, they'll repeat the same convo a few moments later.
Random nature cutaways abound—maybe filler because they didn’t have enough plot or coverage, or maybe someone just really loves local wildlife. Either way, it’s pointless. As for the supernatural rift in space? The actors try so hard not to laugh, you’d think they were being tickled off-camera.
Saban leaves Open with a plot twist—“everyone is a killer!”—which falls flat because there’s no groundwork for it. Plus, when literally everyone looks the same age (grandparents, kids, local shopkeepers?), it just feels like one big curfew-busting sleepover gone homicidal.
In the spirit of generosity (and since they’ll still get a participation ribbon in the festival circuit), I’ll put this in terms the cast and crew will understand: I give it a solid D. Hopefully they do still hand out grades at their school—because this could serve as a cautionary tale in Film 101. Another part of that class they may have missed, Marketing. There is no trailer for Open to be found.
As far as the creator leaving a glowing 10/10 review on IMDB, "Campy, Funny, Also I made the movie so I'm bias," clearly they didn't pay any attention in English class. (It is "biased" in case you read this.) This is why you need a scathing review. Learn from it, but next time, learn BEFORE uploading it to Amazon. Take the time and watch it all the way through first. If you did, well, re-read the above. As summer nightmares go, this one is less Jason Voorhees and more awkward pool party that someone’s mom interrupts with juice boxes. Better luck next semester.
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