- Directed by Nicholas Holland
- Written by Nicholas Holland
- Stars Scout Taylor Compton, Keir Gilchrist, Billy Boyd
- Run Time: 1 Hour, 38 Minutes
- Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHkYD10UDXo
Spoiler-Free Judgement Zone
Blackmail, murder, infidelity, and other secrets cause some family drama for Sam. Why does the stranger keep breaking into his house? How will this all work out? With a lot of drama!
Synopsis
Sam and Joyce Hodges wake up in the middle of the night. Daughter Rebecca sees a burglar downstairs. They run him off and call the police. Credits roll.
The police wonder if young Rebecca’s been having trouble at school; was this intruder interested in her specifically? Sam’s car was broken into last week. Sam doesn’t like Rebecca’s boyfriend, Layne. Sam cuts it off with his own girlfriend.
Sam gets a blackmail message in his email. Someone has pictures of him and Julia, the other woman.
Rebecca finds a dead animal in the trunk of her car. That night, Sam finds another blackmail note on his windshield, and again, there’s evidence of an intruder in the house. The next morning, Sam buys a gun.
Savannah, the detective, comes over and meets everyone. He tells her that he doesn’t like Layne and implies that he may be the culprit. That night, Sam beats Layne to death with a baseball bat in their backyard. He then buries the body out in the countryside somewhere. The next morning, the blackmailer has pictures of that as well.
Things start to spiral out of control further. Between the murder investigation, the blackmail, the affair, and, of course, the intruder, there’s just one damned thing after another.
Commentary
The reveal at the end is a little disappointing. It’s a logical story, but it’s from Sam’s distant past, and there was nothing really foreshadowing the story.
The acting, for the most part, is good, the cinematography is well done, as is the directing.
Erika Hoveland, as Joyce, really shows us what it's like to be the cheated-on wife. She kinda knows what’s going on from the beginning, but once she knows for sure about the affair, really cranks up the emotion.
Dustin Prince, as Sam, is hateful and not relatable at all in the beginning, but toward the end, once he admits to the affair, he becomes a lot more relatable and sympathetic. Then at the end, we learn that he really was scum all along.
Billy Boyd, as Minister Fairfield, plays a southern “hellfire” preacher in a really uncomfortable exorcism scene that only marginally fits in with the rest of the film. It’s a very different role than anything else I’ve seen him in.
It’s a slow burn, but it does pay off in the end. It has some problems, but overall, I definitely liked it.
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