Writer: Wahiduzzaman

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Watch this if you liked: "Shrooms"

Oh my God, is this a local version of the awful 2006 teen slasher "Shrooms"? I'm hysterical just thinking about this movie.

Admittedly, "Histeria" has the commercial magnet of seven young babes to wow the audience (especially for the young blokes) - but to make a good movie, it might not matter even if you had a dozen hot chicks. The plot still matters. Perhaps James Lee's first mainstream feature was mixed with the wrong formula. It's his first attempt at something like this after so long dabbling in the artsy DV scene, so we can forgive him.

Rising to the bait by the enticing movie trailer (and also the delicious poster), one would have really hoped that the same sour experience when watching "Cicak-man 2" and "Antoo Fighter" proper after the amazing trailers does not recur. No chance. This development shows two things, though. One, it indicates that the film industry has improved in making exciting and alluring trailers to draw the audience to the cinema. Two, it might indicate that it's this reviewer who was naive enough to expect something more! A tricky one to elaborate but trailers are the way to go, it seems!

The movie is mediocre because director James Lee failed to bring out the best of these available starlets to completely shine on the big screen. They all do have potential in the industry and out of the seven, Liyana Jasmay, Scha and Yana Samsudin are the scene-stealers to look for in "Histeria". However, the appearance of Ady Putra, Adlin Aman Ramlie, Vanidah Imran and Kaza as the supporting cast doesn't leave much of an impact to the story.

If you're up for some gore and blood (especially for local fans who know about the movie being frozen for two years since its completion), this would still be essential viewing. However, let's not get carried away. There's nothing to be hysterical about, really.

Cinema Online, 17 November 2008