Mummy an' the Armadillo

Mummy and the Armadillo was a film that took a while to get going. Claire Kramer basically held the first half hour together on her own - a character far from her Bring it on Days and once she had Brad Renfro & Betty Buckley to play against, (they come in about a half hour into it) the film really came to life. They're performances were memorable and worthy of their namesakes. Armadillo is a dark, suspenseful thriller that keeps your attention - I understand that it was based off of a play from years ago and it comes off as such. Again the performances that keep it glued together are the actors mentioned above. The film drives to a finally that has a strong payoff with a great twist. It leaves you thinking - looking back to possible red hearings that may have been there along the way. For a picture shot completely in one place, (sans exterior establishing shots and a quick scene in a car) it holds together well and they certainly got their monies worth. It was an enjoyable film.

Another case of a stage play taken to the screen with no adaptation. There is a different dynamic for stage dialog versus movies, and it is painfully obvious as the characters deliver lines with no sense of pace. It comes off as a bunch of people just saying lines *at* one another. That's just one of the things that's wrong with this movie. What's worse is the loose, relatively incoherent plot. The simplistic relationship between the characters leads to a letdown when the final "dark secret" is revealed. The film tries for an intense, psychological edge; but the intensity never escalates beyond a bunch of people screaming and waving various weapons at one another, and the psychology never gets much beyond Psych 101.

You can count the number of shots on one hand of this overlong trapped in one room with actors who either under or overact with an equal measure of indifference. The writing is dull and they can do nothing with it.

Betty Buckley comes off the best as she has stage experience to put life into lifeless material like this, but another reason she comes off well is that she has the smallest part.

This is really a dull small scale play shot in a way that is totally unimaginative. The plot's big twist was obvious to me from the start and the Armadillo story has little or nothing to do with what's going on. The story is loaded with back story none of which the film can afford to shoot but you also get the impression it never occurred to them to even try. The blocking of the actors is crappy and this would possibly be an even duller play than it is a film.

Half baked Sam Shepard play is what this really is. Features a bad "retard" character that is probably the worst thing about it, but the worst thing is how boring it all is. J.S. Cardone does nothing to make this feel like a film. Being trapped in one room is no excuse for directing something this boringly. You can only call this a thriller if you consider a character being tied up in a chair for most of the time a thrill. Watching this film feels like a really terrible week on a soap opera. No edge, no convincing characters or situations, do not press play on this dud.

I loved the claustrophobic atmosphere and the darkness, and the acting was even solid, but the story was sorely lacking.

Converting a stage play to film can be a difficult task, but as long as the actors maintain the drama, then all is well. The troupe did just that, but the story's revelations were hum-drum and very mediocre. Even the "surprises" left me with no emotional response.

As far as stories go, the subtleties in the movie didn't have the "big bang" effect they should have. That's because the essence, the mystery of the tale, was nothing new or intriguing. If the narrative was more gripping and unique, then the subtleties (what little there were actually) would have been far more poignant.

Some list this as a horror movie, but it isn't at all. As for a drama, definitely - but as far as the suspense or thriller aspect, not by a long shot.

I saw this movie at a film festival in Houston. Unfortunately, the only laudable aspect of this film was Brad Renfro's performance. Outside of his character and delivery, the movie came up short on its suspense, drama, depth, and ultimately, quality.

Despite a cast of potentially capable actor and actresses, the storyline was so far-fetched that the people and situations were too much for even a mammoth-sized suspension of disbelief. One ridiculous, inexplicable scene after another left you asking if how on earth any one town could have so many utterly insane people walking around on a daily basis.

Unintentionally, it was like a fast-paced and unnuanced David Lynch movie that had the cinematography of Dawson's Creek and the suspense of a Meg Ryan romantic comedy.