Right At Your Door
Right At Your Door ***
Directed by Chris Gorak
Written by Chris Gorak
Starring:
Mary McCormack as Lexi
Rory Cochrane as Brad
Tony Perez as Alvaro
Scotty Noyd Jr. as Timmy
Max Kasch as Corporal Marshall
Jon Huertas as Rick
Will McCormack as Jason
96 Minutes(Rated R for pervasive language and some disturbing violent content)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Right At Your Door" is a crafty, well made, and creepy apocalyptic thriller, in the vein of those alien films like "War of the Worlds." The only difference is, this time it isn't aliens from outer space that is killer us, it's chemical bombs. And nobody knows how, and nobody is given any information, creating a terror frenzy from the five minute mark. There isn't much peace and sanity in this film, and if your expecting something with an "everything is going to be ok," ending like "War of the Worlds," or even "The Day After Tomorrow," you will be sorely disappointed. "Right At Your Door" is grim and bleak, from the very start, and it doesn't let go.
When we meet young married couple Lexi and Brad, they seem happy enough. Lexi goes to work everyday and Brad tends house-running errands, waiting for various installation men as they move into their house, etc. One day Lexi goes off to work, and Brad hears on the radio about explosions in the downtown area. He is frantic. He starts calling Lexi. No answer-of course her phone battery is nearly dead. He looks out. There is the skyline covered in smoke and debris. Ash is falling from the sky. Brad listens to the radio. They tell him to seal his house shut, and with the help of an intruding neighbor that is what is does. The bombs were dirty and toxic, and those who were out in the terror should be quarantined right away. Once Brad seals the house Lexi returns home, and Brad refuses to let her in, leaving her out. But when it turns out that the bombs and toxic waste aren't the only terrors they should worry about, the two of them are on constant alert.
There is a certain lack of originality that happens when you take a story like this. To be honest we have seen many thrillers similar to "Right At Your Door"-where the world is going crazy, family members are torn apart, the government gets involved and makes a mess of things, etc. But while Chris Gorak's story isn't the most enlightening in the world, he does a very good job at creating a certain bleak aura, really putting you in the situation. Once the bombs hit the colors are grim-dark greens and gray especially. Rory Cochran and Mary McCormack are good in their roles, and McCormack (who is a very underrated beauty) showed some subtle moments where I really thought she was about to attack her husband. These moments do not look like they were in the script, but creations of her very own. There were moments where I didn't know if the two of them would remain loyal to one another, or even be trusting of one another. And I'm grateful that the script did not resort to having the infected people turn into zombies or anything like this. This is much more realistic. There are also several surprises-especially the ending, a delicious and ironic twist that made the whole thing worthwhile.
I do not understand why films like "Right At Your Door" cannot garner a more wider audience. Is it the budget? Hollywood audiences have seen films in the vein of "Right At Your Door," but they are usually ladened with special effects and epic battle scenes. Can people not take apocalyptic thrillers with more humanity and more social commentary? Is it too much for them? They can sit through a terror film like "War of the Worlds,"-which is good in its own way-but they have to ignore terror films like "Right At Your Door." In aspects this is a better film, and contains much of the same content and much of the same stories as the big budget thrillers. Another Hollywood mystery I will never understand.
Now Playing At:
Angelika Film Center
AMC Empire 25
Clearview on 62nd
Directed by Chris Gorak
Written by Chris Gorak
Starring:
Mary McCormack as Lexi
Rory Cochrane as Brad
Tony Perez as Alvaro
Scotty Noyd Jr. as Timmy
Max Kasch as Corporal Marshall
Jon Huertas as Rick
Will McCormack as Jason
96 Minutes(Rated R for pervasive language and some disturbing violent content)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Right At Your Door" is a crafty, well made, and creepy apocalyptic thriller, in the vein of those alien films like "War of the Worlds." The only difference is, this time it isn't aliens from outer space that is killer us, it's chemical bombs. And nobody knows how, and nobody is given any information, creating a terror frenzy from the five minute mark. There isn't much peace and sanity in this film, and if your expecting something with an "everything is going to be ok," ending like "War of the Worlds," or even "The Day After Tomorrow," you will be sorely disappointed. "Right At Your Door" is grim and bleak, from the very start, and it doesn't let go.
When we meet young married couple Lexi and Brad, they seem happy enough. Lexi goes to work everyday and Brad tends house-running errands, waiting for various installation men as they move into their house, etc. One day Lexi goes off to work, and Brad hears on the radio about explosions in the downtown area. He is frantic. He starts calling Lexi. No answer-of course her phone battery is nearly dead. He looks out. There is the skyline covered in smoke and debris. Ash is falling from the sky. Brad listens to the radio. They tell him to seal his house shut, and with the help of an intruding neighbor that is what is does. The bombs were dirty and toxic, and those who were out in the terror should be quarantined right away. Once Brad seals the house Lexi returns home, and Brad refuses to let her in, leaving her out. But when it turns out that the bombs and toxic waste aren't the only terrors they should worry about, the two of them are on constant alert.
There is a certain lack of originality that happens when you take a story like this. To be honest we have seen many thrillers similar to "Right At Your Door"-where the world is going crazy, family members are torn apart, the government gets involved and makes a mess of things, etc. But while Chris Gorak's story isn't the most enlightening in the world, he does a very good job at creating a certain bleak aura, really putting you in the situation. Once the bombs hit the colors are grim-dark greens and gray especially. Rory Cochran and Mary McCormack are good in their roles, and McCormack (who is a very underrated beauty) showed some subtle moments where I really thought she was about to attack her husband. These moments do not look like they were in the script, but creations of her very own. There were moments where I didn't know if the two of them would remain loyal to one another, or even be trusting of one another. And I'm grateful that the script did not resort to having the infected people turn into zombies or anything like this. This is much more realistic. There are also several surprises-especially the ending, a delicious and ironic twist that made the whole thing worthwhile.
I do not understand why films like "Right At Your Door" cannot garner a more wider audience. Is it the budget? Hollywood audiences have seen films in the vein of "Right At Your Door," but they are usually ladened with special effects and epic battle scenes. Can people not take apocalyptic thrillers with more humanity and more social commentary? Is it too much for them? They can sit through a terror film like "War of the Worlds,"-which is good in its own way-but they have to ignore terror films like "Right At Your Door." In aspects this is a better film, and contains much of the same content and much of the same stories as the big budget thrillers. Another Hollywood mystery I will never understand.
Now Playing At:
Angelika Film Center
AMC Empire 25
Clearview on 62nd
posted by Eric at
9:29 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home