It's hard to believe anyone with decent friends or family would spend their own money, resources, or time on something with solid production value, only to pair it with such a horrendous script and lead actor/actress.
This isn't even "bored rich kid project" bad-it's worse. The storyline feels like it was pulled out of a church reject bin. The actors? High school theater levels of cringe (minus one, who seems like they stumbled into the wrong set by accident). And who still writes "villainous billionaires" as over-the-top dramatic and awkwardly cheesy while trying to act tough? Are we supposed to take this seriously?
Let's talk technicalities. Yes, the necklace is important. We get it. You don't need to shove it in our faces every five minutes. Yes, the house is massive and expensive, but what's the point of all the tech if the "lockdown system" does practically nothing? It scans the house to... lock a few doors? Cool, I've got that same functionality from a gadget I bought on Temu for $22. It even controls my AC.
Then there's the pool. The glorious pool. Nothing screams "I'm sneaky" like jumping into a glowing neon rectangle in the middle of a dark mountain, perfectly silhouetted for all to see. Genius move. Truly.
The real mystery here is why the money was spent on locations, production, and audio, but not on competent writers or actors. Maybe just save a little from the catering budget to hire someone who can string together a decent script? Or at least someone who understands that good acting isn't just flailing arms and exaggerated scowls.
I couldn't even finish this disaster. I held out hope after the tacky opening actress scene that the sudden jump in quality and setting meant I'd be surprised. Nope. They doubled down on bad choices.
Here's a suggestion: donate that budget to aspiring young actors, writers, or even caterers with actual good intentions. They'd do far more with it. This? This was dumb.
