PLAY HOOKY ** U.S.A. 2012 Dir: Frank S Petrilli 74 mins

In this found footage/thriller festival favourite five high school friends ‘PLAY HOOKY’ in hopes of finding the perfect place to get high, drunk and do whatever they can to bring fun to the party. Finding the perfect place wasn’t easy but eventually they find it, but should they really be going into the abandoned mental hospital with tales of supernatural forces and satanic rituals being performed there in the past. Well if it is the only place left to go I guess they must, and must they shall.
Throughout we are led by our hat camera man Brad (makes sense when you see the film) as he and his delinquent friends enjoy the friendly atmosphere of Oakhurst Sanatorium. Upon investigating the weather worn remnants of the old hospital they suddenly feel a force that can only be described as unnerving but the only person that picks up on this is the deliciously hot redhead Megan Burke played by Becky Byers. As the film progresses our partying friends die off one by one heading towards its finale we come to realise that there is no supernatural force to be reckoned with but a retarded man wanting to play security guard and he only wants to have a friend to play with. A short film at a mere 74 minutes long, but this film doesn’t need to be much longer then that as the characters are rather boring and you couldn’t care less if anyone survives. Other then that criticism the film is well shot and directed throughout,  keep watching till the end of the credits to get a little bit more of ‘PLAY HOOKY’.

Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder’ Hopkins