When a movie with a recognizable cast goes direct-to-DVD you automatically think the film has to suck. These days, though, so many go to DVD because the market timing may mean the conditions are not conducive for the mass audience a particular film needs to be worth the tens of millions of dollars for prints and marketing.
Anchor Bay has certainly rescued its share of worthy films and not-quite-good ones, releasing them to the niche audience. Walled In, coming March 17, certainly fits the bill.
The movie is based on French author Serge Brussolo’s bestseller Les Emmeures and marks the American debut of director Gilles Paquet-Brenner, who apparently is well liked over in Europe. From what we have to work with, it appears he has a nice visual sense but was not entirely sure of himself shooting this in the latter weeks of 2007 in Saskatchewan, Canada.
The basic plot has demolition expert Mischa Barton go check out her first solo demolition, the work of a famed architect. The striking octagon-shaped building certainly looks interesting and you immediately get the sense that its creator was some sort of visionary. Turns out, he was a visionary and a crank.
Years earlier, people died in the building, including a little girl and Malestrazza, the architect. The caretaker, Debra Kara Unger, and her adolescent son, Cameron Bright, know secrets but refuse to share them with Barton, who has her own secret: an intense fear of the dark. Over the course of several days, she begins to discover some of the structure’s secrets and becomes the object of Bright’s obsession until she gets trapped and certain truths come to light.
This has all the makings of an excellent psychological thriller and falls short given every opportunity. First of all, the building is neat to look at, but Karim Hussain’s cinematography does nothing with the eerie lighting opportunities.
Barton is an uneven actress but holds this production together with a strong performance so we feel something for her as she becomes enmeshed in the building’s weirdness. This is a nicely textured performance which is well matched by the icy control displayed by Ungar. Much of the film explores the relationship between Barton and Bright, who is far too young for her, but sexually attracted and she unconsciously encourages this.
As a result, when Barton finds herself entirely at Bright’s mercy, the film takes an odd turn, which could well have been the core but is dashed off fairly quickly after feints, parries, and red herrings. This could well be the fault of the three writers plus the director.
The film ultimately disappoints but it is not an outright failure. There’s plenty to like so it’s worth checking out. The disc comes complete with trailers for other Anchor Bay product plus a 14 minute making of documentary.
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