Blackwater Lane

I HIGHLY suggest you read the book 'The Breakdown' by B. A. Paris. This movie was made off of that book. And when I say the book is SO SO SO much better, it truly is!

I'm so disappointed in this film. It left so many things out that made you wonder where the heck they came up with some things. So many holes in the plot!

I was so excited to see that this book was made into a film bc B. A. Paris is my favorite author. Now I'm just embarrassed for her at what they did to her incredible book. I couldn't put her book down. This film...? I was bored and disappointed. PLEASE read her book instead of watching this film!!! You won't be disappointed!!

Combining a Lifetime-esque "weak scared woman in jeopardy" with the "is it supernatural, psychological, or a plot" genre, this is a poorly written, poorly acted, and overly long example of this sub-genre. A woman who-- of course -- has a previous psychiatric admission becomes a quivering mass of jelly and acts in very stupid ways, despite the fact the character is or should be a bright person. But oooh is she having a breakdown? Is there a ghost? Is there someone messing with her? A plot so transparent that if you've seen one of these, you've seen them all. If you have experience with these types of stories, you'll see the ending coming from about 20 minutes in. Painful to watch and a disappointingly obvious ending unless you are just one of those who like this sub-genre.

When will I learn? Just seeing the words Grindstone Entertainment on screen tells you. That you're in for B movie at best. In this case, it's more like a C- movie. Minka Kelly, Maggie Grace, and Dermot Mulroney are wasted in what amounts to a really slow and lame ripoff of Gaslight and countless other psychological thrillers. Giant old creepy house? Check. History of mental illness? Check. Lots of easy to see through red herrings? CHECK! If not for the recognizable names in the cast, this could be a Lifetime Movie Network original, and that's using the word "original" very loosely. Nothing to see here.

Cass (Minka Kelly) is driving home in a stormy night down the isolated Blackwater Lane. She sees a car parked on the side of the road, but she does not stop for the distressed female driver. The lady is later found murdered. She starts encountering disturbing visions, but her husband Matthew (Dermot Mulroney) insists that it's all in her head. She had suffered mental issues following her mother's death. Rachel (Maggie Grace) is her friend. DC Lawson (Natalie Simpson) is investigating the murder.

First of all, she should never stop in that situation. There is no shame in that. If it's sunny daylight and nobody else is around, then it would be a bit callous. Somehow, these three American actors got stuck in a bland British murder mystery ghost story. The story has only a few possible explanations and I never really cared that much about which one. It does a poor job with one path while it pushes too hard on another path. I am fine with the ultimate reveal, but it's not done well. The last act is a mess.

This movie plot might have been good if it had been crafted better. It had a lot of good elements, but the pieces just did not fit together in a plausible way and convincing manner.

Many inconsistencies and some stupid liberties were taken during the making of this movie.

Minka Kelly is an absolutely gorgeous woman, but her role was severely flawed. However, I quite enjoyed watching her, even though the realism was badly impaired.

Even worse than the spooky nonsense was the lame love plot. Also, there was a murder for no particularly good reason.

In general, the character motivations were very poorly played.

The script was bad, the direction was substandard, and the dialog was unconvincing.

Other than that, the production quality was reasonably good.