A House in the Hills

There is a murder in the Hollywood hills. Alex Weaver (Helen Slater) is a struggling actress working as a waitress. She replaces her friend to housesit for the needed cash. The cops are next door investigating the murder. The Rankins mistakenly take her bag. Exterminator Mickey (Michael Madsen) unexpectedly comes and assumes Alex to be the owner. He's looking to get something from Rankin and takes her hostage. Will Stryker (Jeffrey Tambor) is the Rankins' new neighbor.

There are a couple of scenes where it is a little too convenient. This should be an intense kidnapping thriller. However there are a lot of false notes being played. The music cues are wrong but that's not the half of it. Madsen is being too cool and lacks the intensity of a real criminal. The romance is awkward and fake like a bad romance novel. It's incredible that Mickey would fall for it. It's completely set up wrong. Jeffrey Tambor is a nice turn but the movie keeps trying to go back to the romantic tones. There is no chemistry to work with here. Just when the movie is coming to an acceptable end, it becomes silly as Helen Slater overacts unconvincingly.