Studio: Shudder
Release Date: 8/20/2024
Rating: Unrated
Film Grade: C
The Story: It’s 2:00 AM and there’s a knock at the door of Patrick’s mobile home, interrupting a moment of contemplation. A woman stands in a drenching thunderstorm, seeking help. She looks familiar to him, but he can’t place her. She says she’s new to the area, and just needs to call a car to get her back to her place. Both of them quickly realize that there’s something a little off about the other, so who’s right? Is this a game of cat and mouse? If so, which is which?
My Take: What a great setup for this low-budget entry. The movie takes place almost entirely inside of the isolated mobile home, largely in real time, as the two characters try to figure each other out. As the story unfolds, the audience is actively engaged in catching the flaws in each of their stories; neither of them fully open or honest with the other. How far would you be willing to trust a stranger? The tension continues to build as we see and learn more and more from them while the outside storm intensifies, increasing the unease and claustrophobia of the small home.
The first two acts offer a compelling mystery and character study, creating an engaging slow burn of a movie. Unfortunately, the third act doesn’t offer a satisfactory payoff. The resolution is disappointingly ordinary, having the feel of being written by someone who hasn’t fully developed their craft yet. In this case, it’s the co-director of the movie, Indiana Bell, on her first full-length feature. She settles on one of the most overused and underwhelming ways to resolve the movie.
It's too bad, because the dialog and interaction between the characters are thoroughly engaging. There’s a soliloquy near the end that is both dark and incredibly nihilistic, and hits surprisingly hard. The deliveries by Brendan Rock and Jordan Cowan are spot-on, with both offering realistic portrayals. The direction and editing are both well-done, giving just the right pacing to most of the movie.
Visuals: This is a very dark movie. Taking place at night, lighting in the home is dim and shadowy. Skin tones and detail are excellent, capturing pores and facial features during the many exchanges between the two characters. Shadow detail is mostly well-defined, with a few scenes becoming muddy for small amounts of time. It’s a good showing for what is an extremely low-budget film.
Audio: The disc features a simple 5.1 DTS HD-MA soundtrack that features a ton of atmospheric effects. The pounding rain, high winds, and creaking structure play a huge part in creating both tension and anxiety as the situation intensifies in the fragile, isolated setting. As good as the environmental effects are, the dynamics could have been increased to add more punch to some select spots.
Special Features: The filmmakers discuss the challenges of making a movie with a microscopic budget, offering interesting insight and observations.
- Audio Commentary with Directors Joshua Allen and Indianna Bell
- Behind The Scenes
- Photo Gallery
Final Verdict: Today’s low production costs give young filmmakers a fantastic training ground to produce a quality-looking film with less risk than ever before. This entry out of Australia is another good example of that, giving me hope for the future of the medium.
While marketed as a horror movie, it’s essentially a suspense/thriller that could have been done as a stage play. It creates a compelling sense of mystery and fear as the audience is tasked with trying to figure out the motivation of the two lead characters. The setup is excellent.
It doesn’t nail the ending, though, as it feels shallow and cheap. I listened to the directors’ commentary in vain, thinking that I had to have missed something beyond the obvious. I didn’t. I won’t get into any spoilers here, but after thinking about the narrative structure of the movie, the cause for that miss became clear.
The commentary does discuss an important thematic element that I hadn’t picked up on first watch. While it was an interesting take, it was buried due to the flaw mentioned above. That’s unfortunate, since it pulls the movie back down into middle-of-the-road territory.
Catch it on a streaming service if the premise sounds intriguing to you; perhaps you’ll have a different take on it, especially if you embrace or are intrigued by nihilism.
Fun Fact: While the set has the authentic feel of a half-century-old mobile home, it was all newly constructed just for the movie.
Content warning - the trailer includes swearing and violent images: https://youtube/y1EHT838rrgMy Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
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