One night, an unusual stranger in need (Malcolm McDowell) asks a woman living alone in a house in the woods if he can use her phone. It soon becomes clear that they're playing a strange mind game and that there's something very wrong about the woods.
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The suspense of this movie made me late for work, when I got to work I discovered everyone else was late due to this movie being so suspenseful! The movie description tells you all you need to know. The end is something you must see only because I did, and it's only fair you do too. Will say this though; I didn't see it coming. There really isn't much more to say and I don't want to spoil this for any of you so I will most certainly not do that. The acting is decent, and the direction is very good so this is not by any means a waste of time. I say that because I know this will be the initial reaction of most people.
A woman alone in a cabin in the woods. A mysterious man knocks on her door. The game begins...This is the perfect film for fans of mystery and intrigue. Like a two-person play, the characters toy with each other, making the viewer sense these two know more than they are letting on. So, we have to try to listen more carefully to what they say and play along. Malcolm McDowell and Madolyn Smith handle their situation effectively and play against each other with ease. Sure, the outcome may seem far-fetched to many viewers, but that's the beauty of this film--you never in a million years would have guessed that THAT was what was going on! Any other solution would have made this a standard "TV mystery", but this one gives you a swift kick and makes sure you are very surprised. It's too bad little gems like these don't get better coverage, even in the magazines that deal with obscure films. Don't try to analyze it too much, but it sure is fun having a brain-teaser for a film as well as be entertained. For such an obscure film, this one is amazingly smart and deserves a more attention. I'm quite confident word of mouth would secure its success this time around over 20 years later.Update August 2011: A DVD-R is now available as part of MGM's Limited Edition Collection. In 2010 Intrada released Richard Band's soundtrack score on CD, but in a limited edition of 1,000 copies.
Strange, gripping drama for the first 90% of the movie. McDowell plays his character with a weird calm intensity that keeps your eyes glued to him. Madolyn Smith-Osborne, a terrific actress here and someone who I never heard of, plays a woman who looks like she's about to come unhinged at any moment.Part of the problem with this very dialogue-intense movie is that it builds up to such a dramatic climax that it's impossible to keep it going through any explanation of what's really going on. And the explanation really cheapens things.What's really great about this movie is the interplay between the two (and only two) characters. In some parts it's brilliant. I wish I had stopped watching some time before Smith-Osborne got all her points, however.
The opening scene sets the tone for the rest of the movie - A woman (Smith-Osborne) is shopping in a deserted shopping centre and then drives her car down an equally deserted main road to her house. No explanation is given for the absence of people, nor for that matter the mysterious man (McDowell) who visits her and begins explaining his presence at the house. The woman points out inconsistencies in his story and as she does so he awards her with a point (it is mentioned that she needs ten points but we are not told the reason). We come to realise that the woman is being held hostage at the house by the man and tension builds as the woman nears ten points and the climax. The woman finally reaches ten points and well... The ending is a bit of a let down (and perhaps a touch frustrating for some) but the film is well worth watching, if only for the performances by McDowell and Smith-Osborne.
