Among the French films, A l’interieur is perhaps one of the bloodiest and most riveting films with female protagonists. This particular movie has the plot of a pregnant woman who has to fight for her life and the life of her child against an absolute lunatic that shows up at her secluded house one night. More or less, this film has the same plot. Nevertheless, it is a pale imitation in just about every single way. Where A l’interieur was spare and taut, this is bloated and meandering. As opposed to this, the artistic skills exhibited in the film are more than admirable. And while the French movie delivered on its hellish premise, this possesses almost no impact at all.
The targets here are Cord (Caillouet) and Mindy (Kavchak), a seemingly happy married couple from out of town that came to their family cabin located within the Rocky Mountains to spend a long weekend. At some point, the couple is interrupted by a stranger who claims she requires assistance. When the couple’s cabin has no landline and I’m shocked, Cord’s cellphone is on airplane mode. Cord takes it upon himself to invite this woman to stay the night, completely against our friend’s wishes. This is just the first of many poor decisions this couple makes. The woman in question is Martha (Cruz) who recently escaped from the looney bin and is now setting out to make Cord, her unknowing target, pay dearly for her ordeal.
Kavchak’s performance is his biggest flaw, and so is Caillouet’s, but I want to rant more about Kavchak’s. She is as dry as the Sahara Desert, and as a woman on the verge of losing her life, she is unbelievably unpersuasive. Yet even she’s an engaging thing compared to the oak wardrobe which is her on-screen husband, who delivers lines in the same way an airport screens an announcement… voila! Zilch energy. Even a piece of wood would serve better than Cord. The last point that I will make is that I want to be entertained and amused and not to ask ten thousand questions regarding my sanity after the episode is over. And with that, let’s just say that I was elated with how the final act played out. Those five minutes were Oscar worthy and thoroughly enjoyed. No, those three minutes of the final act were off the rails, screw the Oscars. And while this may sound boring, I did try to take the episode seriously, and along came my problems. Me trying to appreciate the episode is definitely and never going to happen… No thanks from me, dawg.
The only factor that made this bearable was Cruz (who was credited as Batya Haynes). Her bible-thumping religious lunatic was a genuinely terrifying creature, thoroughly devoted to this philosophy of life. While you may not be able to agree with her, you can understand her perspective. You definitely have to commend the level of commitment she has for her purpose, although that kind of fanaticism is terrifying. It’s just too bad that it’s not a performance in the aid of a better movie. I’ve just realized I’m not even sure if Mindy actually was pregnant. If she was, it surely never had much impact. I suspect I may have just cut that plot in from another, far better film. No prizes for guessing where.
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