The Boys Love Mandy Lane

Despite a no-name cast, a pretty slim-looking budget and a title that is more rom-com than horror, 'All The Boys Love Mandy Lane' is surprisingly good.

The premise is pretty simple. Mandy Lane, a gorgeous blonde high school virgin — which at her school is truly unique — joins a group of friends for a weekend away at an isolated ranch.

Made up of two easy girls and three lecherous guys, and of course Mandy Lane, the set-up is thus: get Mandy drunk, and get into her pants.

The weekend starts off well enough, but it's clear this group of friends are anything but. The two girls are uber competitive, bitchy comments their forte, while the guys will do pretty much anything to hook up with Mandy Lane — and here 'no' so means 'yes'.

But when an argument turns sour and the group splits, things begin to go awry; it is here that, after a slightly slow start, the film begins to shine.

The mood and tone are gritty and sombre, while the means in which the teenagers are inevitably attacked and subsequently killed can be tough to watch. They are visceral and violent — no supernatural demons, nor slow walking men in hockey masks here, folks.

When things get nasty, 'Mandy Lane' comes into its own. You don't really know what to expect because it doesn't play by the rules. Amber Heard, in the title role, is an innocent doe caught in a game she doesn't really understand, nor care for, while the other teens are all ruthless in the pursuit of their goal — which is usually the blonde virgin.

Apart from Mandy, and the ranch hand (Anson Mount) these aren't particularly likeable people — that is until their false bravado falls apart in the face of their final moments. So ultimately you care about the victims beyond their final breath on screen — something generally missing from the current crop of horror.

'All The Boys Love Mandy Lane' quite simply puts the high-profile schlock like 'Prom Night' to shame and could just be the cult hit of the year.

And you will never see the end coming…