Adam Kuhn & The Movies: Right At Your Door
Synopsis: The film opens with Brad, an out-of-work musician, making a cup of latté for his wife Lexi, who is still in bed. Lexi soon leaves for work as Brad starts to unpack the boxes from their recent move. Over the radio, Brad hears the emergency broadcast tone. At first he thinks nothing of it, but as the radio DJ begins to speak in a fearful tone, Brad’s attention is immediately directed towards the dreadful message to come.
Three large detonations have just wreaked havoc on downtown LA. Lexi works in downtown LA. Brad exits his house to view the devastation and sees large plumes of smoke rising from city center. Desperately trying to raise Lexi on her cellphone, Brad decides to make his way downtown to ensure Lexi’s safety. Blocked at every intersection, Brad is unable to progress towards the center of LA. The radio still sounding of impending doom, he hears news that the detonations were terrorist attacks and that people are urged to stay in their homes. Still driving, the news from his radio reveals that authorities fear that the terrorist bombs may be of the chemical or biological warfare type.
Emergency broadcasts soon urge residents to seal up their homes to prevent contamination from the assumed deadly ash clouds that are engulfing the city. The neighbor’s handyman, with nowhere to go, joins Brad and helps him seal his home from the harmful dust. There is still no word from Lexi and all telephone and cellular lines are busy. There is a deep lack of information from the emergency broadcasts, Brad and the handyman can only sit and wait.
Will Brad see Lexi again? What devastation will dirty bombs wreak upon Los Angeles? What effects will the harmful biological warfare have on city’s citizens and what will the American government do to help?
My Verdict: I’ve been getting into independent films lately, and this is one of the better flicks I’ve seen. Without the sole goal of making millions in the box-office, the director’s and writer’s intents shine through in this movie. Compromises are few, the special effects and photography are excellent. The acting isn’t brilliant, but that’s not to say it is bad. All of the actors played their parts convincingly; I can imagine many would behave the same way in a real-life situation like this.
The film tends to keep the viewer in the dark just as much as the characters themselves. It draws many parallels to what a victim of the 9/11 terrorist attacks may have experienced. Uncertainty, misinformation, and lack of information, all play into the film’s climactic ending.
I genuinely enjoyed this film. The premise of the movie is a scenario that is very real and very possible. It could happen to anyone and in any large metropolitan center. In this sense, this movie is a must see, for a situation like this could very well happen in the length of our own lifetimes.
My Beefs:
The only criticism I have is that the film is somewhat split into three acts, the first being the actual bombing, the second, the confusion and waiting period, and I won’t give away the third. The second act tends to drag on a bit. However, this scenes are necessary for the climatic ending, as well as portraying the calm-yet-dreary suspense that one might experience in a situation like this.
Kuhnometer:
8.5 / 11
Trailer:
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