Jokesters, The (2015)

Starring Nathan Reid, Gabriel Tigerman, Luis Jose Lopez
Directed by AJ Wedding
Having the opportunity to review any horror flick that’s coming down the pike is nothing short of a treat for an aficionado, and when you’ve had particular reservations just by the title or artwork of a particular movie, and said movie turns out to genuinely surprise you… well then, that’s merely icing on the cake.
The Jokesters, directed by AJ Wedding, presents a format that I’ve been personally known to render to pieces on occasion: the first person POV (or found-footage if you could pigeonhole it into that category). It follows a group of internet pranksters (“Master Prankers,” actually), who make their “living” setting each other up in practical joke situations, and now their little show is coming to a close due to one of the main stars getting ready to take wedding vows.
So the other remaining fellas decide it would be a show of bro-hood to offer up one of the guys’ father’s cabin in the woods for the newly-united couple… see what I just did there? (Cabin in the Woods)… I think I just felt a chill go down my spine, and not in a good way; hence, my previously mentioned apprehension towards this film. Now you all didn’t think that this little gift wasn’t going to come with a little surprise, did you? Turns out that the guys have one more large joke in store for the happy couple – a terrorizing series of shenanigans that will definitely mark the occasion – HUGE mistake.
With a 79-minute runtime, the notion of divulging any more details would seriously take away the fun of checking this one out, and while it won’t carve a niche in the genre, it has its moments and presents more than a few horrific (and funny) instances. Performances are admirably conveyed, and Wedding’s directorial style makes sure you bide your time before the inevitable punch in the gut, which also comes off as a minus – the tempo contained in the movie can be brutal at times, with a slowed-down cadence that could potentially make some viewers yearn to hit the fast-forward button. Those also who despise the douche-tastic exploits of adults who thrive on tacky, vulgar humor might not appreciate this movie for what it is… a look at a bunch of douches who like dirty jokes – since when was that a crime?
In any event, I can recommend The Jokesters as a one-timer, because in this day and age, we all need a little laughter.
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