''Followers'' is a 2000 American

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film written and directed by Jonathan M. Flicker. It was produced by

Castle Hill Productions Castle Hill Productions was an independent television and film distribution company handling classic and independent films whose library spans eight decades. History Founded in 1978 by Julian Schlossberg, Castle Hill Productions revived and r ...

. The

plot Plot or Plotting may refer to: Art, media and entertainment * Plot (narrative), the connected story elements of a piece of fiction Music * ''The Plot'' (album), a 1976 album by jazz trumpeter Enrico Rava * The Plot (band), a band formed in 2003 ...

focuses on three

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary sc ...

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution, or more generally, a person who takes a special interest in a subject. In the United Kingdom and most The Commonwealth, commonwealth countries, a "student" attends ...

s who attempt to join a

fraternity A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...

but soon find the fraternity president to be extremely

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

. Flicker said he based ''Followers'' on news reports of a racial hazing incident at

Rider University Rider University is a private university in Lawrence Township, New Jersey, United States. It consists of three academic units: the Norm Brodsky College of Business, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which includes Westminster Choir Coll ...

in 1993. ''Followers'' was filmed over 24 days in March 1996. The film was given a

limited release __FORCETOC__ Limited theatrical release is a film distribution strategy of releasing a new film in a few cinemas across a country, typically art house theaters in major metropolitan markets. Since 1994, a limited theatrical release in the Unite ...

on October 13, 2000.

Plot

John Dietrich is a freshman at Harrington University, having moved there from

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

. He becomes close friends with students Steven Trayer and Allen Phillips. The trio, especially John and Allen, aspire to join the most popular and exclusive fraternity on campus, Kappa Psi Lambda. Allen has a leg up into joining the frat because his father was a brother in the same organization. John begins to idolize the charming fraternity president, Jake Tyler, who is also captain of the football team and an academic star. The trio’s tight-knit friendship becomes fractured when John and Allen receive bids from the fraternity, but Steve, who is Black, does not. Jake targets Steve through a series of dangerous and racially motivated hazing incidents aimed at testing the loyalty of John and Allen. John is caught between his loyalty to Steve and his desire to belong in the fraternity.

Cast

Sam Trammell Sam Trammell (born January 29, 1969) is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO fantasy drama series ''True Blood''. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Richa ...

as John Dietrich *Eddie T. Robinson as Steven Trayer *Mark Dobies as Jake Tyler *

Jessica Prunell Jessica Prunell (born ) is an American lawyer and former child actress. Prunell is the daughter of Tito and Kay Prunell. Prunell began modeling and making commercials when she was 6 years old, eventually obtaining a contract with the Ford Mo ...

as Cynthia Gordon *Jerry Laurino as Allen Phillips

Critical reception

Lawrence Van Gelder of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "Written, directed and edited by Jonathan M. Flicker, ''Followers'' is a cautionary tale worth telling to college students with the potential to figure in the annual headlines about fraternity excesses. And its lessons about the cost of remaining passive in the face of evil, of countenancing bigotry and of betraying friends bear reinforcement in any season. But while clearly rooted in pervasive truths, ''Followers''…suffers from clumsy exposition and uneven acting, except in the case of Eddie T. Robinson."

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0252445, title=Followers 2000 films 2000 drama films 2000 independent films American buddy drama films American independent films Films about fraternities and sororities Films about hazing Films about race and ethnicity Films about racism in the United States Films set in universities and colleges 2000s English-language films 2000s buddy drama films 2000s American films English-language independent films English-language buddy drama films