A Netflix viewing on July 22nd. As we all know, Netflix has been producing a lot of it's own content recently. There are some hits and there are some misses. The good stuff can be difficult to find, so sometimes you get lucky.
This picture is directed by Alistair Legrand, who also co-wrote the film with Luke Harvis. Legrand set out to make a part horror part thriller that's not exactly horror, though it does get a little gory at times, but not exactly a thriller. The film has a run time of 104 minutes but gets dull and the tension isn't really there. The story is a series of tropes thrown together. I can tell where the film wanted to go but it got off a few exits too early.
The plot centers around Dr. Jane Mathis (Vinessa Shaw), a psychiatrist who works with troubled patients. On a dark and rainy night she's attacked by a patient, Nora (played nicely India Eisley, sure she looks like the girl from the well from The Ring, which probably is not an accident, but she adequately creepy but not really that scary as she weighs about 96 pounds), who cuts up Dr. Mathis with a glass shard before unsuccessfully trying to kill herself by slicing her throat. This traumatic experience forces Dr. Mathis into a self imposed exile, though she still manages to get into a serious relationship with a cop of all people despite being a recluse, and into treatment with Dr. Drummond (Walter Peck(er)). Of course Dr. Mathis can't leave well enough alone and she takes on a new patient, Alex (Kevin Rahm), that's a special case and against the wishes of Dr. Drummond.
Dr. Mathis is also seeing visions of Nora in places because she's still haunted by the attack. Her sessions with Alex (who she treats in her home so you know that will come back to bite her) get more and more intense as do her visions of Nora. Long story short, Dr. Mathis has a vision of Nora attacking her in her home and she kills her in self defense. But she wakes up in the insane asylum only to find out she killed her boyfriend. Dr. Mathis manages to escape the asylum, very poor security there as Nora escaped as well, and falls into the hands of the person who set her up. I don't want to give it away but it's not that hard considering there are only a few major characters. This is what passes for a twist ending. Meh, at best.
The acting is ok and there's people you've seen before but may have look up. The plot is up and down and has an identity crisis, is it horror or is it a thriller? It's neither really. There's not enough tension to be a thriller and it's only link to horror is gruesome deaths and the fact that all of the bodies wind up displayed at Dr. Mathis' home at the end, Friday the 13th style. The film isn't that good but I didn't really mind that I'll never get those 104 minutes back.
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