The movie is made so realistic it has a lot of that WoW feeling at the right moments and never tooo over the top. the suspense is done so well and the emotion is felt. Very well put together with the music and all.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

The performances are great, the story is what is the problem. While She Was Out is unwatchable from the moment of the first kill of one of the thugs. There isn't much to this Flick except people being killed one after the other and that's pretty much it.Viewing this film the first time will have you scared for "Della" played by Kim Basinger, but as the movie goes on - you realise that they messed with the wrong b*tch.It is good to finally see that "Della" is no longer scared of her abusive husband by the end of the movie, and we see that her kids are what keeps her literally fighting for her life, that picture that one of the kids drew early on in the movie is very important to the story, we see that she looks at it at some point while trying to hide from the punks and that picture enforces her to stay alive by any means.I read some of the reviews and some people just don't get it, the scene where she tries to seduce the punk "Chucky" was clearly a ruse as she has a plan for his death, we see that when she is literally on top of him - she tries, nearly fails, but successfully kills him, there is no way she would be able to do that had she not pretended to let her guard down, "Della" was not a stupid woman, she knew that "Chucky" was talking crap about running away together, his plan was to kill her in revenge for his little buddies, and he was going to kill her anyway due to what he did to the security guard pre-car chase.The Film Score composed by Paul Haslinger is fantastic, it has that thriller/creepy vibe and i never get tired of listening to it on my Spotify playlist. Skip the movie and check out the film score instead.

Tolerable Tale of an Abused Upper-Middle-Class Housewife that is forced to take a Stand against a Politically Correct Gang (not available in real life) and She has got the Right Stuff. The Catharsis of this Movie is Right-On if the Thing does have many Missteps and Wasted Opportunities.Carrying that Damn Toolbox around is a non-intelligent Laugh Getter and is the most Glaring of the Flaws. Although it is an Audience Identification Thriller that Delivers Enough of the Goods to be Satisfying, there are some Amateurish Highlights that Distract and Drag this Down to just Above Average for this type of Thing.Given the Contrivances and the Willing Suspension of Disbelief there are some things that cannot go Unchallenged. Let's have another Urinating Scene. For what? Does what? Shame on yet another "realism" Pretension that is just Annoying and a Modern Mainstay of Unnecessary Uncomfortableness. A Missed Opportunity for a Certified Cheer from the Audience...during the Sex Scene...unbuckle His belt slowly, loosen His pants, and insert Flare...that would have been Hot. The Final Line is a Cheat and a Big Disappointment.

I don't often give one star reviews, but the computer won't let me do negative numbers.The opening titles tell us we're in deep water already. Although this is a low budget exploitation film, there are 17 producers credited. No. No.At the beginning of the story abusive husband Kenneth comes home to his family in an upscale gated community. The house is a pigsty. His wife, Della (Kim Basinger) has let the children run amok all day.OK. We're already in deep water. Ms. Basinger was 55 years old when the film came out. Uh, are these her children or grandchildren? It's Christmas Eve. Della drives to the mall, a lengthy scene that could have been cut. To bludgeon home the idea of eeeeeeevil male aggression rampant in the universe she drives past football players in full uniform playing in pouring rain on Christmas Eve. Sure. For a bonus she sees a vehicle with a slaughtered deer tied to it.We get some actual suspense in the driving scenes, though. It's raining and traffic is bad. First we see Della try to drive and smoke at the same time. Then later Della tries to drive and talk on her cell phone at the same time, at one point turning completely around to check the cluttered back seat for the charger for the phone.She wanders the mall, sees an old friend from college, tries to buy stuff but her credit card is declined- gosh, maybe her husband is grumpy because he's going broke, but that's too complicated for the script to follow.In the parking lot she runs afoul of the most ludicrous gang in the history of films. One White boy (Lukas Hass watching his career go down the toilet), one Black, one Asian, and one Hispanic. Imagine a company of Up with People gone to the bad and you'll have the idea.Although they have a gun she gives them attitude. A mall cop comes to investigate the ruckus and they shoot him in the head, firing more than once. The parking lot is crowded as can be, people everywhere, and nobody notices.Della escapes in her car and rather than choosing a police station or well lighted safe area, she drives to a construction site, where she kills all four bad boys one at a time with simply the tools (literally) at hand.MAJOR spoiler ahead.She drives back home. The car poops out so she walks through the pouring rain. Checks on the children, goes downstairs, and when her husband petulantly asks what she got him at the mall shows him the gun and shoots him at point blank range.The experience with the four punks was supposed to result in personal empowerment for Della. Instead we know that her children will probably spend Christmas in foster care or a group home, because the State will collect them while she answers to murder one charges. The four punks can be classified as justifiable homicide in self defense. The husband, different story.I'm so glad I saw this on cable. If I'd seen it in a theater (did it get any release?) I'd have been furious. As is, I'm just sad seeing talents like Ms. Basinger and Mr. Haas waste themselves on garbage like this.One very good thing, though. This was written and directed by Susan Montford. Ms. Montford has not gotten another writing or directing credit since passing this turd. There is justice in the world.

Suburban slob housewife Kim Bassinger's character appears to be medicated on either Valium or Xanax. She can't seem to grasp why her husband is so ticked after he enters their shizzle dwelling, while blaming her totally messy house on the fact they have children. Yeah....pop another pill, soccer mama. How about instead trying some parental discipline such as "Pick up after yourselves, kids." then take your own advice. No wonder your husband is in a foul mood when he comes home to that shizzle storm. And what's with leaving the children's snack on the stair step as if they're in some form of prison?She leaves her house on an errand and suddenly notices the star atop their outdoor Christmas tree is on the ground - a small oversight compared to the disaster strewn about the inside of their house. Then without seeming to be able to keep her eyes on the road, what with her cigarettes, cell phone conversations, etc., she drives to the mall because she's out of wrapping paper - what's wrong with driving to the nearest drug store? She acts all indignant that the mall parking lot is overflowing, and gets irritated when a random 1980's pimp-mobile takes up two parking spots. How does she know that the driver had no choice due to the manner in which the cars on either side were parked prior? Yeah, that note she left on their windshield oughta teach those "selfish jerks" a big lesson!Later, the overcrowded parking lot is suddenly void of traffic and shoppers when a gun shot goes off - perhaps in a perfect world but not in this scenario. And what's up with the red tool box?Too many oversights to make this movie have any semblance of reality. Sorry Kim Bassinger, this movie is a total zero.