FRIENDSHIPGAME, THE

(director: Scooter Corkle; screenwriter: Damien Ober; cinematographer: Farhad Ghaderi; editor: Matt Lyon; music: Blitz/Berlin; cast: Peyton List (Zooza), Brendan Meyer (Rob), Miranda Edwards (Detective Modan), Jennifer Copping (Zooza’s Mom), Dylan Schombing (Kyle Jr.), Kaitlyn Santa Juana (Cotton Allen), Annette Reilly (Donna Means), Kelcey Mawema (Courtney), Maria Hart (Diane) Lynn Whyte (Marrion); Runtime: 87; MPAA Rating: NR; producers: Danirl Bekerman/Zak Kilberg; RLJE; 2022-Canada)

“Nothing makes sense.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

One of the ten worst films of the year, that’s ineptly directed by Canadian filmmaker Scooter Corkle (“Hollow in the Land”) and weakly written by the first-time screenwriter Damien Ober.

At a yard sale, on their last summer vacation together, four high school senior friends–the best girlfriends Cotton (Kaitlyn Santa Juana) and Zooza, called Z (Peyton List), and a couple, Courtney (Kelcey Mawema) and Rob (Brendan Meyer), buy a strange-looking orb called “The Friendship Game.” The game claims to test for ‘true friendship’ by getting the four friends to place their fingers on an object and relate to the others their real desires.

Later, at a party, Cotton tries to warn Courtney something strange is going down. But her warnings go unheeded. So Cotton searches out Rob and finds him with Z, and then for some reason runs away from them as they begin to hallucinate and Cotton disappears.

We then learn a kid named Kyle (Dylan Schombing) who Z babysits, has hacked into Cotton’s webcam and has kept videos of her in a computer file.

We’re left with the questions of what happened to Cotton and how does her disappearance tie in with the game (or for that matter with anything).

Detective Modan (Miranda Edwards) is investigating at the crime scene and asks Z if she’s on drugs (something I wanted to ask the screenwriter). Z responds by asking the cop, “Do you mean right at this very moment?” Which is the wittiest line in a witless flick.

The acting is atrocious, the story is awkwardly told and nothing makes sense. It’s an incoherent wannabe horror pic/druggie film.

REVIEWED ON 12/6/2022  GRADE: D