I've been reading about Brian Cleveland's "Fingerprints" ever since late 2005, but due to continuous release push-backs, I hadn't had the opportunity to actually check it out. That is, until now. The movie has just come to a close, and I'm sad to say, the flick didn't exactly impress. I mean, it wasn't terrible, but it wasn't good either. Which is a little unfortunate because... I was feeling very optimistic about this little horror/mystery movie.<br /><br />Straight out of rehab, Melanie (Leah Pipes) moves back home with her parents and sister, Crystal (played by "Laguna Beach" star Kristin Cavallari), and soon finds herself caught up in an old tragedy that plagues the town. As the story goes, back in 1957, there was a horrible accident between a school bus and a train, due to a problem in a railroad crossing gate, which resulted in death. Now, in the present day, there is an urban legend that if you put your car in neutral at the same spot the disaster took place, the ghosts of the dead school children will push the car and their fingerprints will be printed on the car bumper.<br /><br />The legend is actually quite refreshing for the horror genre, and it was presented well, but more than a quarter way into the film, the plot suddenly splits, and instead we get a double dose; with the outcome creating conflict. Not only is "Fingerprints" a supernatural tale, but it's also a slasher movie. Whilst the spooky happenings are going on, there is also a masked killer on the loose. This is where I lost interest. The film starts to lose its grip on the story, and it eventually becomes a sloppy "free for all," which then presents major plot holes. It's as though they had two ideas, and instead of deciding on one, they just included both. Which, in my opinion, didn't work.<br /><br />The flick started off well, better than I expected, but as the minutes went on, it started to frazzle. The acting was... good, for the most part. Leah Pipes did a good job with her portrayal, albeit a little overacted at times, but she held her own throughout. Kristin Cavallari, reality-TV star turned actress, impressed me for the first half of the movie; her acting seemed genuine and she was rather charismatic on screen. But I couldn't help but notice when the flick started to dive into its "serious territory," it was becoming more and more apparent that this wasn't her forte. But, you know, this was her first movie, so i'll cut her a break. Andrew Lawrence (Mitch) did a great job at portraying the typical "class clown/hooligan." It's ironic: his character was a total pig, yet there's something very engaging about the actor that makes you warm to him. The rest of the cast, Josh Henderson (Penn), Lou Diamond Phillips (Doug) and Geoffrey Lewis (Keeler), all did a decent job with their parts. However, Melanie's mother, Bethany (Ginger Gilmartin), handed in a lackluster performance. Almost robotic. <br /><br />The special effects were surprisingly effective for a low budget horror movie; job well done on that specific aspect. <br /><br />In conclusion, "Fingerprints" is one of those sub-par horror movies that you stumble upon at 3am whilst browsing through late night television. Only with this one you are most likely to stick around for the final act. <br /><br />It's a time waster; and that goes both ways.