Trunk

This low-budget, basically two-set thriller is trying to tap into a Ted Bundy-ish character and his latest victim, who's ready to play his game. Valid observations and possibly even good suspense could've resulted from this setup, but writer/director Straw Weisman isn't able to imbue his images with any real tension. The film lacks drive and any sense of spontaneity. Instead Weisman must resort to using cuts and close-ups to force his characters' lines and reactions. The two leads remain cardboard figures from which actors Jennifer Day and David Blanchard are never able to transcend. Relased directly to video.

I like psychological horror and suspense, so I stuck with "Trunk" to see how it ended, and because of Jennifer Day. She mostly carries the film, and does it without stumbling. Miss Day is in the titular car trunk pretty much all the way through the flick, kidnapped by a killer and forced to try to outwit him. It's all psychological suspense that plays on claustrophobia, with lots of camera shots that zero in very tightly on the faces of the two leads. What action there is takes place mostly at the very beginning and end and a few flashbacks. What might have helped "Trunk" some, besides a bigger budget, is for the kidnapper/killer to seem more dangerous and scary. He does what he can. Ms. Day puts on a convincing performance in a difficult, movement-restricted role. Those who know Jennifer Day from her late night TV music show might be surprised at the range she shows here as a dramatic actress. Hopefully bigger and better things are on the way for her.

Horror genre has since Hostel been able to get away with this type of one location (and a dull small one at that) type of film. One person tied in a chair another person with a bunch of tools to cut things off of them with and "bingo" you're got a cool edgy horror movie. Not.

So having a girl in a trunk of a car at least the car moves around and since the majority of the movie has girl in trunk while the killer is driving, it becomes a torture show war of words. For 20 minutes this actually works, director Wiseman takes a long time to ever actually reveal the killer's whole face (or he claims he's a killer) or to even see him speak or in a full shot. Girl in the trunk (Day), who is a staple a the American Film Market lobby catering to, and fending off, producers and foreign buyers finally has a movie she can show her stuff in, and I mean acting stuff. She looks good in the film which is largely focuses on her face in very big close ups and she has to pull off a variety of things and does so well, she even sings a song at the end. The movie is a big step for her practically a demo reel.

Then, well, after 20 minutes the director is out of ideas visually and one "phone sex" type scene has to be repeated to fill up running time by the end. By repeated I mean they do another girl tries to seduce killer into opening the trunk, it's not the same dialogue but it's just the same scene because, well how the hell else can you turn a good 40 minute movie into one that runs twice that long. Really needed more visual ideas from the director the whole film is about 35 shots just repeated over and over. Some creative insults. Killer claims he cut out the unborn baby and used it to beat it's mother in the head one time. But no real escalation of insults or psychological attacks from either side of any depth.

Still Day, who looks better with her clothes on, shows she can hold up a film that is almost all her. Be nice if it helps her career as she makes the most of the chance and looks far better in the film than in any head shots on her IMDb page.

Killer, eh, he's not much of an actor, not bad just uninspired and you need some inspiration for a limited 2 hander like this to work.

The trunk is too brightly lit for a trunk otherwise the limited camera angles are professionally done and it doesn't look like video. Music score gets tiresome as it rarely ever stops but works for awhile.

This film works for a bit, pacing is good but writing and especially directing needed to be more imaginative and when it's all about psychological torture you need some deeper kinkier more character related psychology.

Yellow shower fans however may turn part of this into a you tube favorite. Credit where credit is due.

This film doesn't deserve an A for effort--though Day might--but it tries and succeeds some of the time.

No need to say another word.

Bad Acting on both sides The story was like having your home run hitter up in the ninth with the bases loaded down three and he lays down a bunt. It's that dumb.