Star Trek's Anson Mount Starred In This Forgotten Horror Movie With Amber Heard

Anson Mount was well on his way to being some kind of star in film and television when he booked the part of ranch hand Garth in Jonathan Levine's feature directing debut, "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane." Though the smarter-than-average slasher film first screened at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival to mostly positive reviews, it wasn't released commercially until 2013. By that point, Levine had completed three other movies, while Mount was now the star of the AMC railroad series "Hell on Wheels."

Why did a decently-reviewed slasher movie (coming out of Toronto, at least) sit on the shelf for seven years? You can credit the meddlesome, wildly untrustworthy duo of Harvey and Bob Weinstein (the former of which is currently serving time at Rikers Island for multiple rape convictions) for the film's bafflingly long journey to a theatrical and streaming release. The movie was not a commercial success, but it has found a cult following over the years thanks to its smart, stylish twist on the genre and, of course, the presence of star Amber Heard.

And it certainly doesn't hurt to have Captain Christopher Pike from "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" playing a hunky rancher in his early 30s. Though "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" currently sports a not-great 46% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, I believe it's well worth 90 minutes of your time — and not just for the Mount eye candy.

Levine and screenwriter Jacob Forman take an authentic approach to the slasher movie in "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane," writing and casting a group of kids who rarely feel like types. They certainly check boxes (athlete, object of desire, misfit, etc.), but they're written like people that you might've gone to school with. Forman's script does seem to reveal its killer way too soon, but it's got one helluva twist waiting for you down the stretch.

Mount's character, Garth, is older than the teens hanging out at the film's ranch setting, but you can sense a clear attraction between him and Heard's Mandy Lane (who went from being a wallflower to being deemed "hot" by her peers over the course of a year). The slasher film delivers on the gore, and pulls off a few jump scares, but it's the movie's atypical approach to one of the hoariest genres in the movie industry that keeps you engaged. That said, if "All the Boys Love Mandy Lane" sounds like something up your alley, I'm afraid you're going to have to shell out for a Blu-ray copy –  because the film isn't streaming on a single platform at the moment.