(re)Search my Trash

<body> <div align="left"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="800" cellpadding="0" height="100%"> <tr> <td width="100" rowspan="2" background="../stylepix/square.gif" valign="top">  </td> <td width="4" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="592" valign="top"> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="592"> <tr> <td width="100%">  </td> </tr> </table>    <table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="255" align="right"> <tr> <td width="100%"> <p align="right"><img border="0" src="../stills/bloodpageant-poster.jpg" width="250" height="324"></td> </tr> </table> <p><i>Next American Dream Star</i> is a reality show where the contestants ... well, who cares what the contestants actually competing for as long as the show has pretty women bitching about one another, and the only thing that makes this one distinguishable from the myriad of similar shows is that Snoop Dogg is one of the judges. Amy (Juliana Destefano) is set on winning this and become a superstar in the process, and to that end she has even hired her own lifecoach, Liz (Natasha Blasick), to get her into the right mindset - even if her methods are somewhat unorthodox. Crystal (JoAnna de Castro) on the other hand seems a little out of place in the show as she is a devout Christian and can't lie. And when the sleazy producer of the show, Barry (David Chokachi), hires a medium (Ellia English) for a seance she even wants to quit, but is told by a mysterious priest (Stephen Baldwin) to stay on. However, there are some serious problems on the set of the show, and the medium sure senses as much when she pretty much takes a powder after the séance. What's worse, there seems to be a killer on set, as eventually contestants show up dead, worst of all, two in bed with Barry, who loses his mind over it. And eventually, the police evacuates the set, all but Crystal and Amy - and this is when Amy confesses to Crystal it was her who wished the dead contestants to disappear and figures herself the murderer - but it's worse, as it turns out her lifecoach Liz is a black magician who has used her as a vessel to bring back a witch from 17th century Salem. And now that the witch is here, all that stands between her and causing havoc are Crystal and Amy - and fighting witches is just not scoring high on either of their lists of skills ... <p> <p>I will admit, the Christian angle is a little overdone in <b>Blood Pageant</b>, and Crystal's character is portrayed just a little too pure to really come across as real - but what makes this movie work, and sets it apart from other similar horror flicks, is its generous look behind the scenes of a reality show, with all the ugliness that comes with the format, where actual content always seems to take a backseat to spectacle and sensationalism - so much so that the contestants are usually at their best when they're at their worst. And the film boasts just the right satirical tone to make this feel real - while at the same time ably setting up the real horror of the piece, rolled into a climax that certainly packs a punch and makes this rather cool genre entertainment. <p>  </td> <td width="4" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="100" rowspan="2" background="../stylepix/squareright.gif" valign="top">  </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="592" valign="top">  <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> currentyear = "2021"; </SCRIPT> <SCRIPT language="JavaScript" src="../scripts/endcredits.js"></SCRIPT> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript"> dosworsdonn(); </SCRIPT> </td> </tr> </table> </div> </body>