Star Leaf

Director - Richard Cranor (Katana)
Staring - Julian Gavilanes (21 and Over), Shelby Truax (The Warmest Winter), and Tyler Trerise (Fat Kid Rules the World)
Release Date - 2015
Genre - Horror/Comedy/Scifi
Tagline - "Some highs are out of this world"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     You may not know this from my reviews but I love a good stoner comedy.  Sadly, there is not that many horror stoner horror comedies out there.  Though they are limited, the ones we do have are pretty damn entertaining.  My favorite of the few is Bong of the Dead and the Evil Bong series.  Both are superb films in my opinion and offer up some great entertainment.  Recently, I was sent news about the new sci-fi stoner comedy simply titled Star Leaf.  The film looked fun and when I saw it had Russell Hodgkinson I had to see it.  Fans may remember Hodgkinson from the hit SyFy channel series Z Nation where he plays Doc.  I reached out to them and they were kind enough to hook me up with a review copy.  Thanks guys!

     The film follows a young man returning home from the service with PTSD.  His friend and former brother in arms takes him on a road trip to surf but they make a little detour to grab some bud, but not any kind of bud.  This bud is out of this world and is known as Star Leaf.  They are given a map but have to promise not to take pictures or videos of the weed, as well as, not taking any back with them. The solider's friend and girlfriend do not listen and break both those rules sending the three down a psychedelic road blurring the lines between real life and dream where they have to pay for the rules they willingly broke.

       I love stoner comedies because they are simple films with straight forward stories with amazing characters and tons of laughs.  This can usually be said for the stoner horror comedies that we have been given over the years.  Sadly, Star Leaf is not one of those films.  The film has no laughs, horribly written characters and a story that makes no fucking sense.  The acting in this one is actually pretty solid.  The film's lead,  Julian Gavilanes, does a decent job most of the film but does have a few awkward scenes scattered throughout.  He has a hard time keeping his character consistent but for the most part does a great job.  With that being said, the film's most memorable performance comes from the film's director, Richard Cranor who portrays the park ranger.  He was pretty fun and very entertaining.  Also, we get a pretty solid performance from Z Nation star Russell Hodgkinson.  Sadly, he was not in the film as long as I would have liked to see.  The story for this one was all over the place.  It honestly felt like a brainstorming session's notes were turned directly into a film without being properly edited and the horrible ideas removed.  The film ends on a psychological thriller note with the reversal of time and that whole angle and completely ignores the girl that is beside herself in primal wear along with the aliens that we never fully get to see.  The film has a hard time trying to make it's mind up and the end results is a jumbled mess.  Finally, those looking for blood and guts will be greatly let down.  However, the film has some very impressive visual effects that almost makes up for the lack of gore.  Overall, Star Leaf is one of the flattest films I have ever seen.  It has a piss poor story and some of the driest characters that I have ever seen.  The film has a few what the fuck moments that were somewhat entertaining but for the most part the film is a huge let down.  I can not recommend this one.