Merchant Films,
Shantel VanSanten, John Robinson, Julian Morris, Brittany Murphy, James Patrick Stuart, Robert Blanche, Betty Moyer, Lance Rosen, Angelique Perrin
Christine (Shantel VanSanten) is a high school graduate, heading off for college but at her graduation dinner with her parents her boyfriend James (John Robinson) informs her parents that they want to get married. The parents disagree, and as they head home on a very rainy night a horrible accident occurs leaving Christine orphaned. Flash forward and she’s now in college and ready to marry James with the objections of her parents out of the way, but she lives with her brother, Bill, a state policeman and his wife, Sally (Brittany Murphy), a psychologist. But strange things are happening all around, and when the two decide to spend their honeymoon in a secluded cabin in the woods, it’s doubtful anyone will come out alive.
This was Brittany Murphy’s last film and has been on the shelf for 5 years which is usually a death knell for this kind of film. Brittany is not the lead, but she is the star of the film and does a wonderful job. In fact, everyone in this movie could be the crazy one and therefore could be the killer. But it takes until the last moments to figure it out. I expected this to be a “direct to DVD” movie that got released due to the resurgence in popularity from the recent “The Brittany Murphy Story” biopic on Lifetime. I was not expecting much, and I was really blown away at how good this film was. It’s not really a horror film, per se, but it is probably more of a psychological thriller. It was a beautiful film, though dark and dreary, the Pacific Northwest is a beautiful place and it really shows in the wonderful scenery in this movie. The script was excellently done, with tons of red herrings and twists and turns all along the way. The characters are excellently developed and everyone has a reason to be the one, so good luck in trying to figure this out. My wife and I both had it figured out half way through and we were so WRONG it isn’t funny! It’s extremely suspenseful, and was a wonderful experience to see on the big screen. I was really sucked into the story, which doesn’t happen that much to me, and I was sad when it was over. This was excellently done, and I really enjoyed it. If you’re fond of thrillers, give this one a chance. It’s an independent film, with not much money to spend, but it was spent wisely on good acting and great photography. I highly recommend this “hidden gem” of a movie.
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