Kalamity

(2010) Kalamity THRILLER

Written and directed by James M. Hausler, which viewers can have two ways to look at this film. The first objective is two friends who have different approaches about dealing with a bad break up, and the other is by looking at the big picture, which this movie totally "dictates" the actions of this movie to specific characters who're Billy Klepack (Nick Stahl)Stan Keller (Jonathan Jackson) and co-worker roommate Christian Phillips (Christopher M. Clark)- not the police, not the family or to other possible friends. One of the most "asinine" movies I had ever seen which it ignores proper missing persons protocols. At the first few minutes, something bad has happened and it has to do with Stan and viewers don't quite know what that is. The next scene has Stan picking up Billy coming back for a visit from spending much of his time in college. Billy then asks him about his relationship with his girlfriend Ashley, and then the next thing we know Stan turns all psycho about it, as he's also trying to control what other people who also questioning him about his breakup with Ashley as well. This goes on throughout much of the movie as Ashley's disappearance shows up on the news. And duh, at this point viewers have already figured out that Stan has something to do with Ashley's disappearance but without knowing about the circumstances making viewers wondering 1)how come the police are not questioning ex boyfriend Stan about her disappearance? And 2) where the heck are Ashley's family and friends? Why aren't they harassing Stan about Ashley's disappearance? The movie never explains, as this movie "restricts" the environment involving the missing teenager's disappearance as being important "only" to the main characters and as a result automatically wastes more viewers quality time by continuing to watch it when questions like that remain unanswered. And in some retrospect's, the star Billy has as much to blame for other possible deaths as well as he had the opportunity to do something about it by calling in, but because it had to be a movie- the makers wanted to stall viewers even more, and to me that's not right. Bomb.

This is a hard movie to watch, but ultimately rewarding. My favorite scenes involved Robert Forster as Billy's father, Patricia Kalember as his mother and Sammi Hanratty as his adorable little sister Barbie.

But Stan's creepy behavior is worth seeing too, I suppose. Toward the end we finally get a payoff, along with a mystery that never quite gets resolved.

It takes a while, but it's finally clear to me who is going off the deep end, not who I thought. Some of the scenes have audio that sounds like it's coming from inside a trash can, and other visual or sound techniques that make it clear someone is not in his right mind.

One of the better performances comes from an actress with a brief scene at the college Alice attends in Ohio.

It's not clear half the time what Stan and Billy are talking about at one point since half the words had to be bleeped for broadcast TV.

Is it any good? I suppose. It's not really my kind of movie.

After breaking up with their girlfriends of five years, two friends handle it differently. After moving back to his hometown Billy (Stahl) learns that his girlfriend no longer wants a long distance relationship. He is not handling it well and goes to friend Stan (Jackson) for help coping. Stan is not handling his break up well either and soon his girlfriend winds up missing. This movie more then anything is a little disturbing, mainly for the fact that this is very believable and I'm sure at least part of this has happened to someone before. I don't want to give to much away but before you watch know that this is not a horror movie like the preview makes it seem like, but a very disturbing look at how an unstable person handles a break-up. I give it a B-.

Would I watch again? - Not sure, I think I would but it may not have the same effect.

Kalamity, directed by James Hausler, is a psychological thriller for everyone - male or female. This is a movie for people who enjoy getting into the mind of a killer. Starring Nick Stahl, Jonathan Jackson, Christopher Clark as the leads, Kalamity tells the story of college friends - in their post college years - when life becomes real. Back from a bad breakup, Billy (Stahl) is wounded and confused. Figuring he can count on a buddy to help him through the mess, he turns to Stan (Jackson), but he quickly realizes that Jackson is a bigger mess than he is and for far more serious reasons. The plot builds steadily as Billy (Stahl) and Christian (Clark) work through the maze of madness they find themselves in. This is a good movie, well-written with a key performance by Stahl. Get your popcorn before it starts; you do not want to have to leave the theater.

Written and directed by James Hausler, Kalamity claims its spot as an intriguing psychological thriller. Ripped to the bone by heartbreaking loss, Kalamity grasps Billy and Stan as its true victims. This film takes a different perspective since, for once, we hear from the men, witness their emotional bleed, and follow the horror of the 'subconscious rip'. The movie starts out with a haunting, compelling, and strikingly wise voice-over, which pulls the audience into the film.

Grounded by Hollywood professionals Robert Forster and Nick Stahl who portrays the story's hero, Billy, Hausler's brilliant choice of Jonathan Jackson as the aggressive, uber-disturbed best friend, Stan, carries the suspenseful tone. Although Billy has problems of his own, he recognizes almost immediately that his good friend has some profound mental imbalance.

The dialogue is real; it reflects the way real people feel and talk. Billy's reflection on his own lost love, Alice, speaks to that part in all of us who yearn for that lost love of our own – reliving snippets of moments in our own memories as Billy randomly does with Alice throughout the film.

I saw this in the theater, and watched on demand repeatedly, each time unpeeling another layer of Hausler's tightly scripted, haunting film.