Review of Taboo (2002) by Adam R — 13 Nov 2011

Picture a teen-targeted, modernized "Ten Little Indians" with only six people and terrible acting and idiotic plot contrivances, and you basically have "Taboo." Perhaps the worst change is the utterly unconvincing setup that brings the characters together not once but twice; these seem like people who wouldn't stay in the same mall for more than five minutes, let alone be friends.

In a rushed prologue, six young people gather and provide anonymous answers to questions exposing their kinky sexual proclivities. Fast forward a year later and the same group gathers in the palatial inherited mansion of Christian (Nick Stahl) and Elizabeth (January Jones), the two engaged members of the group, for a New Year's Eve party where it turns out just about every friend assembled has committed the sins of the flesh they anonymously answered "yes" to one year prior.

What follows is a hackneyed murder mystery followed by another hackneyed murder mystery stemming from a blackmail plot launched by Elizabeth. To say the motivations behind her scheme are utterly contrived and farfetched is an insult to the words.

Apart from hamfisted writing and characterization that seems to represent little more than a shuffling with trite teen soap opera personae in one pile and traits exhibited by softcore porn archetypes in another, the entire movie is hobbled by some of the worst acting imaginable. Stahl is the standout, delivering a performance that almost makes his character's changes, motives, and emotional makeup somewhat believable. Eddie Kaye Thomas does a decent job as a one-dimensional horndog who always has a vulgar quip at the ready.

The women fare worse. January Jones is icy, insufferable, and inscrutable, not because her character demands it but because her default style appears to be imperious smugness. Lori Heuring attempts to meld self-assurance and sexual openness with the conniving of an all-out bitch and fails at both. Her Katie attempts repeatedly to distinguish between being a "slut" (her) and a "bitch" (Elizabeth); the distinction is there, but Heuring seems unaware that her character embodies both cliches.

Worst in show goes to Amber Benson, who plays a disoriented alcoholic like a coma patient just emerging from several years of complete brain inactivity. Benson herself was probably drunk, high, and brain-damaged at the time of filming -- it's the only explanation for how such a bad actress could convincingly embody a character so fully.