The WTF? Worst Films Extravaganza Presents: The Brotherhood V: Alumni (2009)

**This was originally written for Fangoria.com months ago, but they never posted it for whatever reason. Anyway, I'm finally posting it. So enjoy!**

DIRECTED BY
David DeCoteau

STARRING
Brett Novek - Randall
Maria Aceves - Betty
Preston Davis - Schwartz
Lindsey Landers - Amy
Arthur Napiontek
Nathan Parsons - Holden

Genre - Horror/Slasher/Gay

Running Time - 86 Minutes

Score - 0.5 Howls Outta 4


The tagline for THE BROTHERHOOD V: ALUMNI states the following: "The Guilty Will Pay For Their Sins". If that's the case, I guess I've been really guilty because THE BROTHERHOOD V: ALUMNI is a terrible film. If this film was a prison sentence, I'd probably be on death row.

The film begins at Sunnydale High’s (where’s Buffy & Co. when you need them?) Senior Prom, where school outcast Leslie (Oskar Rodriguez) is set up for a cruel prank but ends up getting killed by someone dressed in black instead. The seniors behind the prank (Brett Novek, Maria Aceves, Preston Davis, Lindsey Landers, Arthur Napiontek, and Nathan Parsons) find Leslie’s body and promise each other to never discuss that night again. A year later, the pranksters are invited to a Sunnydale High reunion by a mystery person who claims to hold a tape that shows who murdered Leslie. Desperate to find the tape, the pranksters end up getting a taste of their own medicine, as they soon get killed off one by one.

THE BROTHERHOOD V: ALUMNI attempts to take elements from previous horror films, such as 1980’s PROM NIGHT, 1986’s SLAUGHTER HIGH, and 1997’s I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER to create a modern slasher film. Unfortunately, this film doesn’t have the entertainment value of these movies. The story is bare bones, with nothing remotely interesting to keep you watching from beginning to end. The characters aren’t developed enough to even be stereotypes. When the first minute and a half has to tell you who these characters are, that should be a hint that there’s going to be issues later on. We’re given red herrings as to who the killer(s) is/are leading to a twist ending that ends up being unsatisfying. The dialogue is dull and generic. I don’t mind if the story isn’t original, but it does need to move somewhere. THE BROTHERHOOD V: ALUMNI is stagnant in its storytelling.

Director David DeCoteau (who’s directed every other entry in the BROTHERHOOD franchise) is hit and miss. For a horror film, there is no tension or suspense. Rather than focus on that, DeCoteau is more interested in the human form, especially the male body. In fact, we get two identical shower scenes (or more correctly, men rubbing water up and down on their sculpted chests) that don’t move the story forward at all. We also get a make out scene between Novek and Napiontek, as well as a bisexual threesome between Novek, Aceves, and Parsons. The BROTHERHOOD franchise is known for its homoerotic nature, showcasing the young male actors in varied states of undress for long periods of time. While that’s not my cup of tea, I can appreciate the franchise has a niche that gives it an identity. But these scenes are just filler and I feel they won’t arouse the audience that this film is really intended for. Also, DeCoteau has these chase sequences that last way too long. Fifteen minutes for one murder that involves eight minutes of just random walking, four minutes of some guy showering, and then the rest for the kill is just too much. The pacing could have been better. And for a slasher film, there’s no gore. The kills are implied off-screen. But the film does look nice and the editing was good.

The acting is also pretty bad, as the cast is made up of models. Nathan Parsons was the best actor here, as he was able to showcase personality and delivered his lines convincingly. The others were poor to decent, although the actors weren’t given much material to work with anyway.

The DVD comes with a trailer for the film and a 49-minute behind the scenes look of the film. Actually, it’s just footage of DeCoteau directing the actors in multiple takes of the same scene. There’s no insight or information about why the film was shot the way it was, nor do we hear from the cast and crew about their experiences working on the film. Bad movie. Bad extras. THE BROTHERHOOD V: ALUMNI has barely any redeeming value.