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      Taboo

      R 2002 1 hr. 20 min. Mystery & Thriller Horror List
      Reviews 18% 1,000+ Ratings Audience Score An unknown killer stalks six friends one year after they played a provocative parlor game. Read More Read Less

      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member Could have shown more skin! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/02/23 Full Review Audience Member Picture a teen-targeted, modernized "Ten Little Indians" with only six people and terrible acting and idiotic plot contrivances, and you basically have "Taboo." Perhaps the worst change is the utterly unconvincing setup that brings the characters together not once but twice; these seem like people who wouldn't stay in the same mall for more than five minutes, let alone be friends. In a rushed prologue, six young people gather and provide anonymous answers to questions exposing their kinky sexual proclivities. Fast forward a year later and the same group gathers in the palatial inherited mansion of Christian (Nick Stahl) and Elizabeth (January Jones), the two engaged members of the group, for a New Year's Eve party where it turns out just about every friend assembled has committed the sins of the flesh they anonymously answered "yes" to one year prior. What follows is a hackneyed murder mystery followed by another hackneyed murder mystery stemming from a blackmail plot launched by Elizabeth. To say the motivations behind her scheme are utterly contrived and farfetched is an insult to the words. Apart from hamfisted writing and characterization that seems to represent little more than a shuffling with trite teen soap opera personae in one pile and traits exhibited by softcore porn archetypes in another, the entire movie is hobbled by some of the worst acting imaginable. Stahl is the standout, delivering a performance that almost makes his character's changes, motives, and emotional makeup somewhat believable. Eddie Kaye Thomas does a decent job as a one-dimensional horndog who always has a vulgar quip at the ready. The women fare worse. January Jones is icy, insufferable, and inscrutable, not because her character demands it but because her default style appears to be imperious smugness. Lori Heuring attempts to meld self-assurance and sexual openness with the conniving of an all-out bitch and fails at both. Her Katie attempts repeatedly to distinguish between being a "slut" (her) and a "bitch" (Elizabeth); the distinction is there, but Heuring seems unaware that her character embodies both cliches. Worst in show goes to Amber Benson, who plays a disoriented alcoholic like a coma patient just emerging from several years of complete brain inactivity. Benson herself was probably drunk, high, and brain-damaged at the time of filming -- it's the only explanation for how such a bad actress could convincingly embody a character so fully. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member this bored me, i didnt watch it all! Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/08/23 Full Review Audience Member its been a long time since i watched it but its always stuck with me enjoyable film Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie is pretty worthless. The death scenes are okay, but it doesn't make sense. I found myself trying to figure out what a self-revealing but mostly harmless card game had to do with murdering people. It's not the worst movie I've ever seen, but it was quite bad. The plot was senseless and all the characters are one sided and very cliche. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/19/23 Full Review Audience Member What a tragic movie, so boring! Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Taboo

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      Critics Reviews

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      Eric D. Snider EricDSnider.com A self-serious cheese-fest ... utterly worthless as an actual film, but quite entertaining as an object of derision. Rated: D Oct 6, 2016 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Sep 6, 2005 Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews Not only is Taboo completely inept and ludicrous, but it's pointless and boring. Rated: 0/4 May 7, 2003 Full Review Caffeinated Clint Moviehole One of the most complicated teen pics you're likely to see this year.A pretty messy, unfathomable film Feb 6, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis An unknown killer stalks six friends one year after they played a provocative parlor game.
      Director
      Max Makowski
      Executive Producer
      Todd King
      Screenwriter
      Chris Fisher
      Rating
      R (Language|Some Violence|Sexual Content)
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller, Horror
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Jan 1, 2012
      Sound Mix
      Dolby Stereo, Dolby A, Dolby SR, Dolby Digital, Surround