A grown up "Home Alone" that pulls no punches!
Well, I'm really torn on this movie. Some of the acting is good, some not so good. I can't exactly call it original either. But at the same time, there were some moments of true suspense that had me on the edge of my seat...and I was always waiting to see what was going to happen next. It had no problems sucking me in and keeping my attention. Let me give you a quick synopsis and delve a bit further down.
A mob boss (Bellevance, played with giddy glee by Ray Wise), gets out of jail and tells his hitmen that he is missing 500,000 dollars. He wants the money found and he wants them to kill everyone that is on the list of people that might have it. I kind of missed where he got the list, but I assume it's money that people borrowed and never gave back. He tells the men to make examples of each of the individuals and kill with impunity. And some of these early kills are quite horrific as these people don't seem to know why they are being attacked and killed. The violence is brutal.
We are next introduced to the Rutledge family. It's apparent early on that something is not quite right about son Owen (Ryan Hartwig), as he doesn't seem to talk much. But his dad Bill (Boyd Kestner) is trying to convince him that the move to the new home is just what he needs. Owen's new sister by marriage Lauren (Fabianne Therese) is not particularly happy to move either and is giving mom Maggie (Lisa Rotundi) a hard time about it. And is it normal for Owen to be drawing a maze in the shape of a gun...he seems obsessed with violence. Lauren finds this out as she goes into Owen's room for the first time after they have settled in, as she steps on sharp "jacks" that Owen has scattered about the floor. Pretty soon the hitmen make their way to the house and then the violence really starts. This is not Home Alone folks...although I did find some of it amusing, but in a painful way. The traps seem pretty realistic, and when they are applied, so do the results, and they are painful. The plot at this point really is "Home Alone"...can Owen and his Sister survive and outwit the hitmen.
This is strictly an indie film affair. The acting is decent with the best performances coming from hitman Lloyd (Dana Ashbrook) and Derek Mears who plays Chissolm. Mears played Jason in the remake of Friday the 13th and he gets to be on the other end of the punishment this time. Ryan Hartwig does what he can with his part as Owen, but basically he just makes faces to try to emote. Better is Fabianne Therese who does a good job of being the "protective" sister. I felt the dad's part was weakly acted and not very believable. The mom has a short roll and it's decently acted as well, but better than the father.
So, what did I think about this film? I have to say I did enjoy it. It's not the most original thing i've ever seen, but does what it does well enough. Some of the real world traps are quite ingenious, and as I have said before, there is a certain degree of suspense that lasts throughout once the chase scenes start. In particular, a car lot scene is particularly tense and something happens that I did not forsee, so good on the writers for that. I guess the main thing is that you have to buy that Owen and his past (that's where the title of the film comes from) is sufficient for us to buy that he is this miniature Rambo. At times, some of the things he does are quite sadistic, but they are usually to protect his sister. He's not a bad kid, he just has a murderous edge?!?! Regardless, we are rooting for them to get away, so I guess it works for the most part.
As I have said before, I enjoyed this film. It's not so long that it wears out it's welcome, and it's fun watching this kid take revenge. It sort of works on the same principle as Home Alone did, but with realistic consequences...and at times just some good old fashioned knifing when traps are not working. But, at the same time we have seen this before, and the acting is just average. If the sound of this appeals to you, by all means enjoy the film...but if you hated Home Alone, then just steer clear.
7.5 out of 10
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