The tone of this supernatural melodrama is decidedly serious and somber, as is the chilly blue-gray color scheme that suits the damp, woodsy and mountainous Pacific Northwest environs where pricey contemporary mansions are plentiful and the views are spectacular. A voiceover tells us, “Maybe for you, there’s a tomorrow. But for some of us, there’s only today” before observing high-school senior Sam Kingston (Zoey Deutch of “Vampire Academy”) awaken at 6:30 a.m. on Feb. 12 to a pop ballad playing on her phone (no, not “I’ve Got You Babe”). She ignores her parents and berates her cute little sister before rushing out the door to hitch a ride with her queen-bee BFF Lindsay (Halston Sage of “Paper Towns”) as they proceed to pick up the rest of their privileged pack, smarty-pants Ally (Cynthy Wu) and wild-child Elody (Medalion Rahimi).
While in an SUV, it is revealed that Sam has an appointment to lose her virginity that night with boyfriend Rob (Kian Lawley), an event for which Elody handily provides a condom. The rite of passage will be a capper to “Cupid Day,” a rather cruel yearly custom (sure to make those not with the in-crowd feel like crap) that involves students sending roses with special notes to one another. No one can blame the outspoken class lesbian (Liv Hewson) when she declares the custom to be “heteronormative hell.”
Sam, of course, makes out like a bandit with a sizable bouquet. But even though love should be in the air, the foursome can’t help but taunt their favorite punching bag, a crazy-eyed artistic misfit named Juliet (Elena Kampouris) who hides behind a veil of unkempt hair. Meanwhile, Sam gives the cold shoulder to one rose-giver, Kent (Logan Miller), who we eventually learn is a childhood friend that she now ignores despite his obvious infatuation with her.
The action culminates at a rainy-night kegger held at Kent’s adult-free house, where matters go from bad (Rob, who turns out to be a drunken lout, spends the night barfing in the sink) to worse (Lindsay verbally attacks and throws beer at Juliet after being called a “bitch”) before becoming truly tragic (the quartet of gal pals all appear to die in a crash when the vehicle flips over after hitting an unseen obstacle).
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