Reviews: The Girl in the Photographs (2015) Movie Review
Subgenres: Thriller, Police, Serial Killer, Stalker
HellHorror’s review of The Girl in the Photographs (2015) breaks down the plot, scares, cast performances, and its lasting impact on the horror genre.
The Girl in the Photographs (2015) is an American/Canadian thriller horror-crime movie that was filmed in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. Director and writer Nick Simon (The Pyramid (2014), Removal (2010), Cold Comes the Night (2013)) did average job directing his second full-length movie. Executive producer Wes Craven (Scream (1996), A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), New Nightmare (1994), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)) creepy touch was seen throughout the movie. The Girl in the Photographs was the last film Wes Craven had done before he died in August 2015 from brain cancer.
The Girl in the Photographs revolves around Collen (Claudia Lee - Kick-Ass 2 (2013), Hart of Dixie (2011), The Circus Girl (2010)) who resides in Spearfish community and mysteriously started to receive photographs of young women that were brutally murdered. The movie begins by introducing us to Britney (Christy Carlson Romano) and Janet going in different directions after leaving a movie theater. Janet (Katharine Isabelle - Ginger Snaps (2000), American Mary (2012), Insomnia (2002), Freddy vs. Jason (2003)) went to her car in a lonely parking lot where there was only one other vehicle there. Janet proceeded to make her way home although she was being followed by the car that was in the same parking. She enters her home to find a man already there wearing a mask and has on no shirt. He, of course, attacks her, ties her up and meets with another man while taking pictures of her which were printed out after.
Colleen works at a local grocery store and sees the photos of brutally murdered Janet laying in her bed with blood everywhere stapled to the bulletin board in the front of the store. Colleen decided to take the photo to the Sheriff’s Station and told them that the picture is labeled number seven at the bottom, but they did not believe her and told her to sign a statement and leave. The movie skips to Peter Hemmings (Kal Penn - Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), Superman Returns (2006), Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle (2004), Epic Movie (2007)) in L.A. who is a photographer that once lived in Spearfish. Peter read a blog about the photographs and thinks that the person behind the photographs is needed to create the "Dead Model" look. Peter, his assistant Chris, his girlfriend Rose and two models traveled to Spearfish.
The movie became interesting after Peter invites Collen to a party he is having, and Collen invites her friend Jill to meet her there. Colleen did not know that Jill has been kidnapped and her night is about to change as it is the kidnappers who are answering her texts and not Jill. The movie had no shortage of a playful sense of humor, amusing gore, creepiness, action, and gut-wrenching deaths. With all said, I gave this movie a four because it was not my cup of tea and had the potential of being something way better but fell short on the execution of the director because there was minor suspense but no tension. The Girl in the Photographs is a good movie to watch if you want a mindless comedy relief but if you are looking for more, then it will be best to leave this movie alone.
Sources Used to Shape This Review
Insights in this review are drawn from director interviews, fan commentary, production notes, and long-form breakdowns across genre-specific platforms. Content is written uniquely and reviewed for accuracy.
- The Girl in the Photographs Rating Scores
- Our Score: 4/10
- Overall Score: 3.44/10
- IMDB: 4.5/10
- MetaCritic: 3.2/10
- Rotten Tomatoes: 1.7/10
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