Tamara

(2005)**


Poor, unattractive Tamara; the kids in her high school hate and actively bully her and the kind teacher she has a crush on rebuffs her affections. To add insult to injury, she is accidentally killed when a school prank goes terribly wrong. Luckily Tamara was into witchcraft (gee why was she so unpopular?) and manages to return from the dead stronger, angrier, and hotter. Now completely pissed, Tamara takes on the jocks and their girlfriends who were responsible for her death. When not killing the popular kids she works on getting her favorite teacher away from his wife.

If you think this sounds a lot like Carrie you’d be right, the premise is almost exactly the same. Tamara is one of those films that asks us to believe that the protagonist is really homely,

only to be transformed like this when she comes back from the dead,

Apparently we’re supposed to think, “Wow, look at her, she’s gorgeous! How can that be, she was so butt-ugly before…” Give me a break. I love it in movies when the “ugly ducking” is merely wearing a pair of glasses and has curly hair only to be transformed later when her glasses are removed and her hair is straightened. I always wonder what message this gives people who wear glasses who have curly hair. Anyway, while I’m all for taking revenge on those who killed you, Tamara is ultimately an unsympathetic character. For example, why be cruel to the schoolteacher you had a crush on when all he ever did was support you while others bullied you? Tamara’s revenge is of the yawn variety here and 3 weeks after watching it I’m laboring to remember anything significant about this movie. Oh yeah, the lead is really homely.

Watch the trailer, which gives away the whole film:
Tamara Trailer