You won't be disappointed!

This is How Movies Should Be Made

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

.Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

After seeing this movie a second time (caught it a few years back on cable) I realize Tom Cruise totally ripped off his characterization of the psycho in "Collateral" from Mark Harmon in this movie. Wayyyy too eerily similar to be a coincidence. Right down to the odd demeanor, hidden rage and creepy buzz-cut hairdo.The only real complaint I have about this movie was the woman's character. Honestly, she gave a performance worthy of a mediocre Lifetime Channel film, while Mark Harmon actually surprised me with what he brought to this role. His part, although a bit outlandish, was actually believable. To the contrary Ms. Goodall's portrayal of an abused wife and terrified captive was grossly inconsistent. Either she didn't do her homework or she just went on set everyday, cashed her check and didn't give it much effort. The best thing about this movie was the ambiance and style for the second half, which was mostly dominated by Mr. Harmon. I'd like to see him in more after seeing this.

Standard B-movie fare. But strangely watchable. Caroline Goodall is kinda babe-like.....and the plot has a decent enough twist. Gotta wonder, is Goodall the sister of Jane Goodall of chimpanzee research fame? Looks similar. But her sister picked chimps better than Caroline picks men. 5/10. Just barely worth renting on video if you have seen everything else.

I don't want to spoil the ending so let's just say it borrows from many horror/slasher films we've all seen 1000 times. The set up was interesting and the acting was quite riveting at times but the inevitable culmination of the action sequences towards the end were predictable and unsatisfying. I don't know why you would make a film with so many loose ends unless you were too desperate to make any statement condemning spousal abuse. Straight-to-videos are prescreened for test audiences and don't get distributed for a reason.

Annie (Caroline Goodall)is a battered wife. "In the end," she says in a voice-over at the beginning of the movie, "(my story) is just a little fairy tale about feeling desperate."Annie is married to a Bill (Jon Gries), a cop and wife-beating control freak who won't let Annie get a job or a divorce. She has tried to run away, but he always catches her. And she knows that eventually he'll kill her.He likes to remind her that he saved her from her sexually abusive father. As he slams her head to the floor, he screams something about "that freak called 'Daddy,' that sick old f--- !" So, the idea of murdering Bill sounds pretty good to Annie.Meanwhile, Bill's partner, Clark (Michael Beach), a good-hearted man, tries to help her. But he can offer her only the standard legal remedies that don't necessarily guarantee her safety.Bill allows her to take a cooking class; she loves it, and it's a way to get out of the house. One evening the instructor introduces a new student, Tommy (Mark Harmon), to the class, and immediately he and Annie strike up a friendship. She asks what he does for a living. "I kill people," he says -- and laughs, after a long pause. Uh, just joking...Eventually she tells him about her predicament. He listens sympathetically, then mentions another solution, one that is more conclusive than anything Clark can offer. She agrees to it, her problem is solved -- and then she finds out, to her horror, that when it comes to possessiveness, her husband was an amateur compared to Tommy.I'm always wishing for better-than-average straight-to-video movies. And I got what I wished for with this film. Great acting (Goodall, Harmon, and Beach are simply perfect in their roles) and a script with frequent flashes of irony and wit make this a very entertaining and satisfying movie indeed.This wasn't great art, but I liked it.