A new arrival in suburbia attempts to investigate an apparent conspiracy in Arthur Luhn's thriller
Set in an unspecified suburban town, the plot revolves around Amy (Jessica Sonneborn),
fresh from Kansas, who rents an apartment in a cul-de-sac from the
eager Tom (Embry). Reassured by her elderly neighbor (Rocco) that
"nothing ever happens here," she soon discovers that's not exactly true,
as she almost immediately witnesses the hit-and-run killing of an old
woman who had been screaming at, yes, the house across the street.
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Interrogated by a seemingly genial cop played by Roberts (the veteran
actor can make the line "If I have any further questions, I know where
to find you" seem utterly menacing), Amy finds herself increasingly
curious about what's exactly going on in the seemingly abandoned house.
Her intense demeanor indicates some past trouble in her life, and her
fragile emotional state becomes even more apparent when she has a
semi-breakdown after a pharmacist refuses to refill her prescription for
anti-psychotics.
Attempting to play Nancy Drew, she attracts the attention of the
local police, whose officers keep disconcertingly pulling her over while
she's driving. She also becomes the victim of a hit-and-run herself,
suffering a strained ankle that results in her being forced to use
crutches.
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But one cop, the friendly Kyle (Josh Howard), agrees
to Amy investigate the mystery, leading to an increasingly complex
series of dramatic revelations that confirm her darkest suspicions.
Marred by Luhn's occasionally clunky, melodramatic script and obvious
budgetary limitations, the film never reaches the Hitchcockian level to
which it aspires. And its denouement, staged in the middle of the
street where there are apparently no bystanders, utterly strains
credulity. But the filmmaker succeeds in creating a sustained atmosphere
of genuine tension, abetted by Munk Duane's tense musical score and Sonneborn's intense performance as the determined heroine.
Production: Eyethfilms
Cast: Jessica Sonneborn, Ethan Embry, Eric Roberts, Alex Rocco, Courtney Gains
Director/screenwriter/editor: Arthur Luhn
Producers: Bill McAdams Jr., Arthur Luhn
Executive producers: Wallace F. Carlson III
Directors of photography: Shawn Greene, Zack Richard
Composer: Munk Duane
Not rated, 90 min.
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