Alicia I love this movie so much

Redwarmin This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Gutsycurene Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Martin Onassis This film has a lot to offer in terms of entertainment, mostly, as many have noted, because of the performance of Helen Mirren as Ms Tingle. Her musings on life when abducted, referencing the great literature of the past, are exciting, and informative.Katie Holmes and the other younger performers are all solid as well.Where the film goes wrong is at the end. Perhaps if Ms Tingle HAD killed a student accidentally, then the young abductors would have been let off the hook, but since she did NOT really kill anyone, it seems clear she could've still filed charges against the students for kidnapping, for which there was ample forensic evidence.Still, for the great lines given Helen Mirren, and her interaction with the younger students, in a teaching role, the movie is unique and entertaining.

Predrag This movie is so great! Helen Mirren is sensational, she show that even that the most horrible times, she can still manipulate even the most smartest people. Katie Holmes is great and her being close from my home town she is a great actress with awesome abilities as a person. Jo Lynn (Coughlan) was phenomenal she made me laugh so hard when she did the exorcist scene, well done! Barry Watson (Tambor) was great as well! But look deep in yourselves haven't we all had a teacher that we would just like to tell her what we think of her!! A little bit of humor and situations that keep the characters getting deeper and deeper into trouble is only half of what drives this movie. the other half is Helen Mirren and her portrayal of the evil teacher. While the other actors in the film are great, it is certainly Mrs. Mirren that steals the show. Although, I would have liked to have seen more of her evil, it still worked out well. Not even close to horror, only vaguely comedy, this is a roller coaster teen drama that doesn't stop until the final credits. The real problem with this movie is that writer director Kevin Williamson made a poor choice to tie the films best feature to a bedpost and leave her there motionless for most of the film. To fill in the missing action, the story had to slither into its side stories which unfortunately revolve around tedious adolescent dramas. I guess he made a choice to do a humorous parody on the Exorcist, yet this very choice placed the film on an endless downward trajectory, it peters out, flat-lines, and once it does it never recovers. It creates an maddening film experience in that it starts off so promising only to lose all its bubbles and go flat. I mostly recommend this to teens, adults might not find it as interesting as teens.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Spikeopath 3 students get more than they bargained for when a theft of a test results paper leads to a deadly battle of wills with their kidnapped teacher, Mrs. Tingle.It seems to me that director and writer, Kevin Wiliamson, got confused as to which direction the film should go in. At times it's jaunty when the scene appears to call for menace, and at others just plain boring if the scene was meant to be actually funny {in that sarcastic, almost satirical way}. The film could of worked at either being a comedy or a thriller, but the fusion of the two just doesn't work, and this failing has to fall at Williamson's door, it's as if Scream was all a fluke after all? The cast struggle with the meanderingly dull screenplay, only the stoic {and sexy} Helen Mirren salvaging any sort of dignity by realising early on that the core of the film calls for deft nastiness instead of outright villainy.Poor and practically unwatchable these days. 2/10

lost-in-limbo History teacher Mrs Tingle seems to have it in for student Leigh Ann Watson, who has her heart on achieving a writing school scholarship. She receives another low grade from Tingle, which doesn't help. When one of her classmates Luke steals the paper of the final history exams and pops it in her bag, Mrs. Tingle finds it sticking out. She threatens the three that she will go to the principal about it, but he's not available. So before she reports it the next morning. Leigh, her friend Jo Lynn and Scott head to her place that night and try to convince her not tell the principal. However due to Tingle's stubbornness, that find themselves reverting to drastic measures to stop this getting out.Wasn't fan of it when I first saw it, and after another viewing, I'm still not one. Writer Kevin Williamson was on a roll after penning the successful contemporary teen horror films; 'Scream (1996)', 'I Know What You did Last Summer (1997)', 'Scream 2 (1997)' and 'The Faculty (1998)'. He was riding the success (also not to forget the TV show 'Dawson's Creek), but this project would be the final bump. The difference there, compared with this entry was other then writing the screenplay, he was also making his debut in directing. The strange thing though, was that I found his direction to be competently done, but material he stormed up to flavourless and tired. It seemed to get caught in playing both a black comedy and straight-out thriller, without making it gel. The script is cluttered with quick-wit, on-going gags, trivial stretches and gimmicky references towards other films, but the problem is that it's too watered-down with so many contrived developments and sappy moral currents disrupting the flow. The fractured script had to be more strong and potent, since it's a small-scale production that feels like you're watching a stage show because of its mostly confined sets. It tries to play mind games with the characters, but these moments are there to only serve the story's poor progression into a puddle of stupidity and senselessness. The film's ending takes the cake. Williamson's polished direction is sound, but more so in a pedestrian way and therefore it lacks suspense and the pacing even with its taut surroundings can really plod on. You eventually feel it after the halfway mark, and it shows up how minor the story is. The performances are tolerable enough, although if it weren't for Helen Mirren's classy, icy portrayal of manipulative prowess as Mrs. Tingle and a buoyant Marisa Coughlan, we would have been stuck watching a vapid goody-to-shoes Katie Holmes. Barry Watson is modest in his slacker part and Molly Ringwald has a lesser role. The soundtrack packs enough energy, but I found it terribly overwrought and shapeless in its choices.Watchable, but mechanical all round.