Dead Man's Curve
Dead Man's Curve
R | 24 January 1998 (USA)
Dead Man's Curve Trailers

Two roommates plan to kill a third to take advantage of college policy giving a 4.0 grade to a suicide's roommates.

Reviews
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
Helllins It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.
Keira Brennan The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.
Yash Wade Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.
jotix100 Some universities and colleges would grant a 4.0 average to the roommates of students that commit suicide. That said, there is always someone who figures out a way to get rid of an obnoxious student if it would mean grades one didn't earn. Leave it to some college kids to figure out a way to get into prestigious schools with little intelligence to justify the artificially inflated grades given to them in order to appease the ordeals they've been through.This is the premise of Dan Rosen's thriller "Dead Man's Curve". Mr. Rosen trying to capitalize on other movies directed to younger audiences, created a story with many twists and turns. Some of the plot devices work, while the viewer is left to ponder some of the logic behind what is presented on the screen. The film, as some of the comments do suggest, will resonate more with American audiences because they might be more aware of this curious fact that some of our higher institutions of learning reward students that come close to tragedy.There are four people that can gain admittance to Harvard, one of the elite centers for learning in the country. Tim and Chris conspire to get rid of the boorish and obnoxious Rand and by doing so, they will be admitted to the place of their dreams, almost by osmosis, since they don't have the grades to prove their intelligence. But Rand's body is never found, so can it be considered a true suicide? When the police appears to interrogate them, Tim suddenly switches his story and Chris' account of what happened is questioned by the detectives.The second plot involves Emma, who is Chris' girlfriend. She also has her own agenda. When Natalie, her roommate, who had been going with Rand, tests positive as being pregnant, puts the Canadian co-ed into a suicidal mood. Emma will stand to receive the good grades and has an assured future, or so it seems. It is at this point when another twist that comes out of nowhere occurs. Rand, who didn't die, resurfaces. His explanation doesn't convince, but here is where one gets to the real point in the film. Chris, it turns out has done some planning on his own, really wants to get rid of Tim.The intense Matthew Lillard gives an over the top performance as Tim, the man at the center of the story. Michael Vartan plays Chris and Randall Baliskoff is seen as Rand. Keri Russell, a gorgeous creature, appears as the sweet Emma, an ambitious girl, herself. Dana Delaney's role is not justified as the psychiatrist that acts as a sort of a Catholic priest, knowing the students' secrets, but not coming forward to denounce what really is going on.
screamingdreamer at first, the cinematography looks good, so at least it has that...but this movie slowly descends into the depths of Hollywood hell. it twists so many times you completely get lost, and by the end of the movie, you have no idea what just happened! i suppose if i subjected myself to watching it again, maybe i would pick up something i missed before. but to be perfectly honest, it was so bad, i don't think i CAN watch it again. this movie makes no sense to me. what's so bad is that i truly believe that i actually DO understand everything about it. its just so bad that i'm having trouble really BELIEVING that i'm really understanding. i just keep thinking "there has to be something more..." if there IS indeed something more to this film, its completely and hopelessly buried under the layers of crap that make this movie what it is. don't waste your time on this piece of crap. if you want to watch something that will twist and turn and challenge your brain...watch a David lynch film.
TheNorthernMonkee SPOILERSIn 1998, Hollywood did yet another of it's legendary double releases. In a day when it's been announced that Pink & Renee Zellwenger will both play Janis Joplin in two seperate films (5th April 2004), it feels almost fitting that british television would show one part of another double act of movies.In "The Curve" (or "Dead Man's Curve" as it was known in the United Kingdom) two roommates (Matthew Lillard & Michael Vartan) decide to murder their third roommate (Randall Batinkoff). By setting the murder to look like a suicide, the two believe they'll be given the College's sympathies and given a 4.0 Grade Average for the Semester. Events sadly don't turn out as they seem."The Curve" was released in the same year (although I'm not sure about exact timing) as "Dead Man On Campus", and truthfully I don't think it's as good. Whilst the latter of the two stars Tom Everett-Scott & Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zack from "Saved By The Bell") in a laid back simple comedy, the former attempts to take the same topic and create a darker more surreal story. The problem however is I question how well such an obscure topic stands up to a more serious intent. In "Dead Man On Campus" the creators have intended to make us laugh a lot and see the lighter side of things. In "The Curve", with the exception of one or two moments, it is much more of a gruelling, torrid performance. Matthew Lillard appears to come into a lot of praise for this movie off people, but personally I question his ability in it. Forever to be known more for his role in the "Scooby Doo" movies, Lillard doesn't help his cause by demonstrating in this earlier effort just how irritating he can be.To be fair to Lillard, his character isn't helped by such a slow moving plot. For a movie which advertises itself as a dark comedy, "The Curve" appears at times to portray an almost psychological drama element to itself. It feels as if the writer of this piece was unsure what it was he wanted to create. This movie takes a long time to progress, so much so that a friend of mine actually got up half way through and went to hoover her bedroom, a sure sign of boredom.All in all, "The Curve" is a nice idea. It has regular characters, an average twist at the end (which seems to be condemned a lot), a novel soundtrack (personally I don't find The Cure that depressing) and one or two good jokes. Ultimately though, compared with it's comrade "Dead Man On Campus", "The Curve" is inherently dull, and takes itself far too seriously. One to watch on the television perhaps, but only if you are unable to get a copy of it's rival.
cossallpsycho This is another 'get-on-in-the-teen-slasher-movie' kind of movie. The twist are reasonably clever up to a point. The lead guy, Matthew Lillard is never going to be as funny as (the good) Jim Carrey, as A-class as Tom Cruise so is only left to be as annoying as Tom Green but that would be difficult even for this guy. Overall, much of the same. Nothing special, Nothing offensively bad but just a bit boring really because the script had no spark whatsoever. 6/10