By Melissa Antoinette Garza
In December 1938, a horrible accident befell a group of children on their way home from school. A bus stalled on railroad tracks and was subsequently struck by a freight train. Twenty-six students between the ages of 12 and 18 lost their lives. It is believed that the spirits of those children guard the area. When cars stall, it is said, the spirits guide the car across the tracks to ensure the driver’s safety. People have claimed that small fingerprints have been seen on their vehicles.
It is this event that the film Fingerprints examines. Though it is a complete work of fiction, the idea for the movie was spawned from that legend. Urban legends are definitely one of my interests. I will typically research anything I can find on any lore that I hear about. Ghost stories, subliminal advertising and conspiracy theories have always occupied much of my free time. I was the child that would chant “Bloody Mary” in the mirror as I trembled in fear that it just may work. I would scratch my sister’s records attempting to find back-masking. I would like to say I’ve outgrown these things, but even now I’m entertained by it all. I’ve read everything I can find regarding the rumor that Paul McCartney died and was replaced with another singer, and I’ve watched every documentary questioning whether we landed on the moon. Now, I’m not saying that I believe that any of these claims have merit. In fact, I’ll state emphatically that Judas Priest did not cause the death of two young men by hiding messages in their music. Nonetheless, I’ve always been fascinated with these topics. When I found out the basis for the movie Fingerprints, I knew I had to watch it.
The film opens with our protagonist, Melanie (Leah Pipes) leaving rehab. She is a recovering drug addict who nearly died after overdosing on heroin. In flashbacks, we learn it was at the urging of her ex-boyfriend Shawn (Dylan Cox) that she began toying with the heavy stuff. Like Melanie, he overdosed but wasn’t as lucky. He didn’t survive it. Though she still has pained memories, she leaves the clinic with a newfound self-pride confident that she will overcome her demons. Her mother, Bethany (Ginger Gilmartin), is not as certain and expresses zero faith in her daughter.
Rather than Melanie’s parents, it was her sister Crystal (Kristin Cavallari) that picked her up from treatment. They begin to drive to their brand new home which Melanie has yet to see. The entire family had moved away from the city in yet another effort to keep Melanie sober. Bethany goes out of her way to remind Melanie of all the sacrifices that were made for her. Despite the lacking bond between mother and daughter, Melanie does share a stronger relationship with her father Edward (Darryl Cox). Edward is reserved and frequently backs down when confronted by Bethany. Still there are occasions where he does attempt to play mediator.
More than anyone else in the movie, Crystal and Melanie have the most solid relationship. In fact, they seem more like best friends than siblings. As the two hadn’t seen each other for a while, Crystal doesn’t drive straight home. Instead, she stops by the train tracks and tells the story about the bus accident. She tells Melanie that the legend is the only thing the town has going for it and otherwise everything is pretty much boring. They put the car in park to see if the ghosts move it though it’s clear that neither girl really believes the story. As expected the vehicle remains still. Oddly, Melanie sees a small child (Sydnee Harlan) dressed in a white dress. Despite the young girl seeming out of place, Melanie doesn’t think too much of it. She doesn’t say anything and the two eventually leave.
When they arrive home, her father is excited to see his little girl. He shows her around the house and attempts to make Melanie’s homecoming a bit of a celebration. Bethany, on the other hand, is less than welcoming. She’s pretentious and comes across as an upper class snob who was more embarrassed by her daughter’s behavior than worried about the health risks associated with hard drug use.
Melanie tries to make the best of it and puts on a smile for her father. That is until she finds out that she is unable to own a computer. Upset with the cold reception, Crystal decides to take Melanie to a party. Everyone is doing drugs and acting like the typical teenage douchebags.
Things get worse when Carolyn (Ashley Wyatt), a white trash skank, asks Melanie in the rudest way possible if she overdosed. When Melanie doesn’t deny it, the bitch calls her a ‘freak.”
Crystal admits to slipping up and telling someone who must’ve blabbed. Melanie immediately forgives her, but they both decide leaving the party is the best decision.
They get in the car with an irritating jerk named Mitch (Andrew Lawrence) who has feelings for Crystal and a sensitive but strong guy named Penn (Josh Henderson) who likes Melanie. Penn is the perfect romantic interest. He’s cute, has brooding eyes and an irresistible charm that works well opposite Melanie.
The group drives to the tracks. Even though a train is coming right at them, Mitch puts on an annoying dumbass bravado refusing to move the car. At the last minute, he hits the gas causing everyone to yell at him. Meanwhile, Melanie sees the girl in white again. She runs out of the car searching for her but no one can find her. Instead, they see the old town mayor Keeler (Geoffrey Lewis) who is now a drunk who obviously feels guilt for something.
The next day, Melanie starts classes at her new high school. She reports to her guidance counselor and teacher Doug Perryway(Lou Diamond Phillips). At first, she’s apprehensive about talking to him, but after a short time, he seems like he’s a decent guy and she opens up. When Mitch makes fun of her in front of the other students for her stint at rehab, Doug kicks the jerk out of class. His loyalty only goes so far as he makes a home visit to Bethany and discloses some information that Melanie didn’t want her to know. Although Doug isn’t a bad guy, he certainly loses Melanie’s trust.
Worse than that, Bethany goes on a rampage. She takes scissors and cuts Melanie’s hair to conduct a hair follicle test.
After school, Melanie takes Crystal’s car and goes to the tracks herself. This time the car moves on its’ own accord. She once again sees the little girl who has a sticker with the name Julie on it. She invites the girl in her car and she instantly just appears in the passenger seat. Melanie doesn’t seem as shocked as she should be and in fact just acts as though the girl was superfast in getting into the car. That’s one of the only scenes that lacked reason. For the most part, everyone played the parts in a realistic way. For whatever reason, this particular scene didn’t make sense.
Julie points to a house to be dropped off at. The next day, Melanie goes back looking for her only to be told by an older woman that Julie was her sister who died all those years ago.
Slowly, things begin to get worse. Julie becomes aggressive as the young child is desperate for her story to be heard. People begin disappearing and the police bring in Melanie for questioning. Bethany goes as far as to give the cops leverage against her daughter.
Of course, there is a twist and the revelation is really an interesting one. It fits perfect within the context of the movie.
This is really a fantastic film from beginning to end. The characters are well-developed and have a sense of genuineness about them. Even Bethany who is a horrible person reminds me of so many people I know. She is so self-absorbed that not even her family is as significant as she believes herself to be. Bethany is mentally and physically abusive. Though, it may have been her ex-boyfriend that encouraged her drug use, living with her mother most certainly made the decision to get high an easier one.
The film is creepy, atmospheric, intelligent and entertaining. The casting was well-done. The dialogue was captivating and more important natural. Essentially, I mean that most of the words spoken seemed conversational and fit in context.
Our protagonist is a strong sensible woman who knows when to fight and when to run. She is not a glutton for punishment nor is she forced into a Super Hero-esque role. Too often do we see a woman either completely helpless, where she is saved only because a man finds her. On the other side, we have characters like Jessica Biel in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) where the character needs to be almost super-human. They face off against the villain by themselves without obtaining help from the authorities. Rarely, do we have a strong and sensible woman who does what she needs to do to survive. She fights back out of force but never relinquishes power.
I also loved Phillips in this film. He’s such a great actor who is under-utilized. He was great in the fun low-budget Bats (1999), he was a believable child killer in Law and Order SVU (2006), and of course his break-out role was breathtaking. When he played Ritchie Valens in La Bamba, I got chills. It was such a memorable performance and film. To this day, I’ll often repeat, “Not my Ritchie!” I would love to see Phillips come back in a big way. Whether it be in horror productions or dramas, he is just too great of an actor to be placed on a back-burner.
Both the character of Melanie and the actress Leah Pipes did everything right! I was so elated with the way in which the character grew stronger with each passing day. Despite the obstacles she had to face and the people who simply didn’t believe her, she rose above to find out precisely what happened all those years ago to the children. More than that, she fought when forced never forgetting to express the fear that would most certainly be present.
Whether looking for a ghost story, an urban legend, or just an interesting movie, this is for you! I can’t suggest this one enough! The ghosts look great. They use actual kids and not CGI. CGI can and has ruined movies in the past. Here the powers-that-be did nearly everything right!
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
