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Considering the cast,you'd expect better with that said..

The opening shot of driving on the road was nauseating,perhaps because the cinematography was horribly shot in low-light.

There was no real back story on the main character,basically she is an abused wife & mom.. We see her go to a mall casually looking around at stuff & a life,she wished that really existed while buying wrapping paper.

Not sticking up for the thugs but the minute she(Della)stuck that poorly worded note on the windshield,you knew that she brought on anything to come.

Also how does a suburban upper class wife & mom,become a survivalist.. Again,what's her backstory.

Than once done after she kills everyone instead of stopping for help she goes home,her car dies & she walks the rest of way.. Once home basically husband is upset for her being away long,not why she was after seeing she had blood or anything & than follows-up"what did you get me?" Where she responds & shoots him.. Roll credits!

Skip this! Was low-quality,full of plot holes & clichés.

To be sure there's nothing particularly original in this. It's a fairly standard chase movie as a woman is chased through the night by a gang of thugs out to kill her in revenge for her having left a nasty note on their car when they double parked in a busy parking lot on Christmas Eve. So, yeah, it's a variation on a pretty standard theme. There are no real "surprises." You know the woman is going to survive somehow, and in all honesty I thought there was a fair bit of tension and suspense through the whole thing. It's a bit unbelievable, sure - but that's the nature of this kind of movie. Unoriginal, yeah - but anyone who reads the description of the movie going in has to know it's going to be unoriginal so don't watch it if you want something brand spanking new. I liked the basic story from the point at which Della began to be pursued to the point at which she escaped. I thought it was well done.

The movie was helped by having a better than usual lead. Kim Basinger played Della and did well with the part. So many of these movies feature a complete cast that you've never seen before and that you'll never see again that it's kind of nice to see a familiar face. Ironically, perhaps the weakest part of the movie was also Della, though - not Basinger's performance but the character's background. From the opening scenes of the movie Della is portrayed as a victim of an abusive husband, apparently trapped in this unhappy marriage. That really served little purpose and had few connecting points to the remainder of the movie except to allow for a "shocker" in the very last scene, which, again, wasn't necessary to the story.

Go into this with your eyes wide open. If you like this type of movie then this is certainly on par with (and maybe even a bit better than) most "chase" movies you'll come across. But if you're looking for originality, forget it. It all depends what you're expecting from it. Personally, I rather liked it. (7/10)

Della Myers (Kim Basinger) is an upper-class housewife that lives in a private condominium in the suburbs with her twin children and her abusive husband Kenneth (Craig Sheffer). Della gives all the attention to the twins, neglecting their house and her appearance and upsetting Kenneth. On the Christmas Eve, she drives to the local mall in the night to buy wrapping paper for the gifts, and she does not find any parking space available. When she sees an old car parked on two spots, she leaves a message to the owner calling him "selfish jerk". When the mall closes, Della's car is hold by the driver of the old car and she is threatened by four punks – Chuckie (Lukas Haas), the Afro-American Huey (Jamie Starr), the Chinese-American Vingh (Leonard Wu) and the Latin Tomás (Luis Chávez). When the security guard of the mall protects her, he is shot on the head by Chuckie, Della speeds up her car trying to escape from the criminals. However she crashes her truck nearby a forest while chased by the gang. She takes the toolbox and hides in the wood, fighting against the gang to survive.

A couple of days ago, I saw the trailer of "While She Was Out" and I was anxious to watch the DVD. Unfortunately the trailer is better than the movie, and I am totally disappointed with this dull and implausible collection of clichés. Della Myers is presented as an insecure and neglectful housewife and inexistent as wife; the motherhood is her only interest in her concept of family. She is chased by four mean criminals but she defeats them with a toolbox that seems to be the Batman's utility belt. Therefore, the plot is so absurd that irritates. The gang of criminals is formed by the favorite cliché of American movies, with an Afro-American, a Chinese-American and a Latin together with an American lord to be politically correct. Kim Basinger has a decent acting, but their children are too young for a fifty-five year-old woman. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Enquanto Ela Está Fora" ("While She Was Out")

This is what you need to know about this movie, besides the fact that I recommend it as solid thriller: Kim Basinger, suburban mother of 2, lives with abusive husband. On Xmas she decides to go buy some stuff at the mall and while she's out, a series of bad things happen - getting her into serious trouble.

I wouldn't read more before watching the movie. Not because there are any great twists, but because it's worth watching without any, even minor, spoilers. It's also filled with irony - sometimes it reminded me of Predator and Home Alone - being a horror movie only in the sense of the cat-and-mouse game hunt.

In a role that's surprisingly physical, Kim Basinger does a good job as the protagonist. I can't help but remember what Kim went through with her marriage problems and all, and somehow connect this movie as a catharsis of sorts for her.

"While She Was Out" might not be very well-known, but it should, in my opinion. It's a refreshing take on a genre that's been tirelessly explored, and most important of all, fun.

6/10

The genre of suspense films really takes a dive in this one. The big problem is IMPLAUSABILITY. I realize that you need to create difficult situations which would cause suspense and the tense feeling of whats going to happen next, but this movie was so predictable, and is just not believable. I find that the more I watch this kind of movie, the more I am continually saying things to actors to direct them away from danger. Continually making bad decisions just borders on being plain stupid. If they took the time to make it more realistic, I might have enjoyed it a little. Having said that, you might be better off staying away from this one.