I chose to watch this BECAUSE OF the low reviews. Yes, I seek "outside the box" movies. Actually when I saw on IMDB that the lead actor didn't even have a photo, I knew is had to be a creation by first-timers. The first review I read confirmed this as well as give me more stuff. It's budget was a mere $130K. This bad acting, story and directing is why I go to high school plays. Mainly, I'm SO Sick and Tired of Typical American movies. It's not great acting that bothers me, it's the hideous Reality of American movies. Everything seems to require Magic. Think! Even James Bond movies are now fantasy, magic and fairy tale. Those shoot-outs, chase scenes, and OMG I hope women don't really go for that. I also watch Foreign films to get some Reality. There must be a conspiracy to make us stupider.
-- I'll add to the complaints about this movie by saying Bad Editing. Other reviewers say "disjointed" & "incongruous." I suspect those who made the movie also edited it themselves--big mistake because they who Know the story can't see that the viewer Won't know that somewhere in the script, but not in the final cut, is crucial information. Fifteen minutes in, I hear, "The explosion," and I restarted it to learn What Explosion? It keeps coming up later. That must have been something that fell out on the cutting room floor. There's reference to "an argument last night" that we never saw. Also, there's Bad special effects. At 13:47 there's a car in a stream, but it's bad photoshopping of two photos. No shadows, no blurring of the edges, ick! In that scene: Rose is Missing. That's all we ever see/hear, but her death is discussed and we see her tombstone. (However... go ahead and watch the movie for more on this.)
-- Yet, this movie inspires me. Almost makes me want to start making movies. There IS a story. The plot is Not one we've seen a hundred times--a few similars are out there. Old "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" (1965) may have been the first of this concept. An intel officer wants to quit the business, but has to go back for one more assignment. This movie has the added twist that the "agency" cannot help. That's also not unique, but how about we think of this as a bunch of neighbor kids putting on a frontyard play and we get to smile and encourage them. It's fun to decide who's the best actor, and the worst. No actor here was great but I vote Elizabeth Kadeli as best because she could say a Lot just with her expressions.
-- There some myths in this story that personally annoy me. When I was in the military, I learned some fundamentals about handling classified information, and most movies seriously mess it up, as does this one. People Don't simply walk into the next room to talk about secrets. Grrr. But I love the lines regarding Bethany's mission, "... and if it goes south, I'm hung out to dry." "Yeah." -- THAT is reality even for "efforts" that Are officially sanctioned.
-- Another movie myth is that local people investigate murders. Now that's aways done by the FBI, who has vastly more resources and none of the bias. I love Beth's use of the strobing flashlight. Those things really can mess with a person but then banging her forehead onto the bad guy's only gives mutually bad headaches. (The right tactic is to bang forehead to the nose.) And now Beth started a myth by saying 20 apple seeds can kill someone. 83 will make a small child sick and we'd need 500 for a large adult. Usually, sheriffs don't handle things within a city because they have their own police department. Although some counties with tiny towns designate all law enforcement to the sheriff's office. But this town "has three traffic lights," so I think that's big enough for city police.
-- One thing I like about this is Conspiracy Reality. If you were to take a political science class, you'll find these kinds of conspiracies are TYPICAL everywhere. Most don't jump into a series of murders, but most Could. This stuff also happens in Your hometown.
-- A skilled person really can take a pistol away from someone. I just wish they'd actually show her hands when Beth does it. (My son, a former cop, can even disassemble a Beretta while someone's pointing it at him, then poke the person in the eye with the Slide.)
-- I give this movie 4 stars NOT because it's bad but because I strictly give Five for any AVERAGE movie. I save eight and nines for legendary hits and epics. It's like... when I visit someone's home and the dinner they serve is not tasty, I still eat it, don't complain, and thank them. I can do the same with a bunch of first-timers' movie.
