Dietro la porta

The best movie I have seen in a long time, Deadbolt succeeds with an interesting plot, it's cleverness and the great performance of Adam Baldwin as the killer room-mate. Baldwin pulls off a performance which lets you take this stranger into your heart and your mind...bad mistake! You realize this as the story flows and gasp as you see the ease with which your life can be ended without dying. Some may say it's a rip-off of such films as Single White Female and Misery, while it is true it takes inspiration from these films, it really does stand on it's own two feet and if I may say...knocks the socks off Single White Female. This movie is ONE TO WATCH so as the tagline says... MAKE UP THE GUESTROOM, YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE HAS ARRIVED!

Just a real bad clone of Misery, just the genders switched around. Now the psychopath movies are getting cliched. Baldwin is the dime-a-dozen psychopath, and he's locking his love in her room whilst murdering off her only points of contact. Now she's trying to get out, while he cuts away every attempt. Please, just watch Misery. Same thing, just a lot creepier and enjoyable than this.

Seriously though, had all the good titles been taken by all the countless other "psychopath gets close to common person" flicks? This holds no surprises, other than perhaps the fact that it ends so abruptly that it might be more like stopping. If you've seen a single one of these(and let's face it, that's probably the full amount of actually great ones in this overpopulated sub-genre to thriller), you've seen them all. The clichés are riddled throughout the generic script. Every other line of Baldwin #64 could, indeed, be accompanied by orchestral stings that signify evil and you might not even notice it. They try too hard, and it winds up being distractingly unrealistic as opposed to creepy. The acting is poor, with the kid definitely being the worst(she's also got the least tolerable role). There are numerous instances of characters(who, by the way, are entirely forgettable and unbelievably bland) reacting however the scene requires them to. Much like Whispers, which appears to be the only other thing by director Jackson that I've watched, this just holds next to no interesting or memorable elements. It's been done before, and it is far superior elsewhere. There is some disturbing content and a bit of violence in this. I recommend this solely to big fans of the cast and crew. 6/10

Marty (Justine Bateman of Family Ties) is searching for a roommate after someone breaks into her place. After her first choice is found murdered, she lets psychotic Alec (Adam Baldwin, known for NOT being one of the Baldwin brothers) move in. At first he seems too good to be true and they enjoy a romantic tryst, much to the chagrin of Marty's jealous over-protective ex-boyfriend. Then he begins to show his true colors.

This movie was an extremely generic, strictly by-the-book thriller. Woman-in-peril? check. Jealous suspicious ex-lover? Check Romantic affair with a guy whom turns out to be nuts? Double check.And as such, it's extremely predictable. You know how they're going to get from point A to point B to C. So no tension to be had, leading to boredom and apathy to why you even watched this lame film in the first place.

My Grade: D

How do you make a crappy made for TV movie? Simple..

Take one ounce of single woman

Make sure she is fresh from a bad divorce

Put her in a empty flat

Mix in a handsome lodger with a dodgy history

Stir until sparks fly

Add in a sprinkling of suspicious best friend, jealous ex-husband etc.

Beat the dish thoroughly until sprinkling is quickly gone

Insert just a pinch of secret evidence about lodger's past

Be sure to place evidence near to woman

Knead the dough flat into a final conclusion

Keep doing this for a rather tedious 20 minutes

Chuck it in the oven, and voilà! You have yourself a nice overcooked thriller!

Unfortunately, this recipe is rather hard to swallow under normal circumstances. But if your tastes are extremely low, or you like high fat foods with no filling, then this is the perfect dish for you! Be warned though, if you have an allergy to bad acting, or suffer from an inability to suspend disbelief, this probably doesn't come recommended. Try a nice orange soufflé instead, or just get some sleep.

Thank you for attending today's cookery class. Next week.. how to boil an egg! See you soon.. 3/10