I'll Be There with You

Beginning with the now clichéd 'based on true events' bs and showing most of the main characters dead at a crime scene before going two days earlier for the film to properly start. A group of people from various walks of life are at a party when they decide to take a trip to San Diego where they stay at a ranch owned by Constantine (Daniel Baldwin). But before the night is up things will take a much darker turn.

Marketed as a horror movie, in actuality this badly acted film is more honestly a drama akin to the likes of one would see on the Lifetime station on any given day. The direction is pretty much a mess and the motivations of any of the characters rang hollow to me. I found myself checking my watch on multiple occasions hoping and wishing that the movie would just end. Daniel Baldwin has been in worse films before (I still break out in cold sweats merely thinking about "Vegas Vampires") but this one is still pretty awful.

Eye Candy: Adarsha Benjamin gets topless, as does Elisabeth Donaldson (but in her case it's far from sexy due to the circumstances)

My Grade: D

DVD Extras: We get a 36 minute Making-of & a photo slide show

I have to admit that my expectations were low. The lesser-known movies on Amazon Prime can be notoriously bad. But I have not enjoyed a low budget movie as much as "I'll Be There With You" in a long time. As with many movies made by Japanese and Korean directors, the editing was excellent. The script flowed well was nicely paced. No. I had never heard of any of the actors other than the bloated Daniel Baldwin, who could not have been better type-cast as the lecherous host. I will confess that the first third of the movie, while reasonably entertaining, was leading me to believe that there would be little to keep the viewer interested. But the "turn" toward more a more serious plot line was smooth and the story never looked back from there on. Not to be too critical of those who have trashed this flick, but Kitamura blended in the violence and tragedy with the syrupy romance in a manner similar to many above-average Asian movies. The poorly done violence was simply a reflection of the low budget. Even the title seemed to reflect the director's Japanese roots. IBTWY brought to mind "Domino", but included more plot twists and smoother transitions. It deserves at least a "B".

This is an excellent example of how indie films should be. Acting is good, as is cinematography but the story is excellent. The story is the same as many indies but it has enough differences to be unique in its own way. I hope Akihiro Kitumura will have the opportunity to make many, many more films. I believe that he will be very successful if given a chance.