Kalamity

Written and directed by James Hausler, Kalamity claims its spot as an intriguing psychological thriller. Ripped to the bone by heartbreaking loss, Kalamity grasps Billy and Stan as its true victims. This film takes a different perspective since, for once, we hear from the men, witness their emotional bleed, and follow the horror of the 'subconscious rip'. The movie starts out with a haunting, compelling, and strikingly wise voice-over, which pulls the audience into the film.

Grounded by Hollywood professionals Robert Forster and Nick Stahl who portrays the story's hero, Billy, Hausler's brilliant choice of Jonathan Jackson as the aggressive, uber-disturbed best friend, Stan, carries the suspenseful tone. Although Billy has problems of his own, he recognizes almost immediately that his good friend has some profound mental imbalance.

The dialogue is real; it reflects the way real people feel and talk. Billy's reflection on his own lost love, Alice, speaks to that part in all of us who yearn for that lost love of our own – reliving snippets of moments in our own memories as Billy randomly does with Alice throughout the film.

I saw this in the theater, and watched on demand repeatedly, each time unpeeling another layer of Hausler's tightly scripted, haunting film.