THE PLOT THUS FAR
Without the security of the job he wants or the future he dreamed of, Paul Dynan (KEVIN ZEGERS), plans the perfect crime to help his struggling family — extort a fortune from three wealthy men (RAY LIOTTA, VICTOR GARBER, STEPHEN MCHATTIE). The plan: to abduct their socialite children (LAURA VANDERVOORT, DUSTIN MILLIGAN, JOHN BREGAR) and collect a healthy ransom of $3-million dollars. Over the course of one long night, Paul and his accomplices hold the rich kids hostage awaiting the $3-million ransom with little idea of the secrets that will surface between the fathers when they are forced to choose between their children and their money. Once blood is shed and things go horribly wrong, Paul must fight to stay one step ahead of his own twisted game.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
In a desperate gambit to rescue his family from poverty, Paul Dynan dreams up a scheme to kidnap the children of three wealthy men for ransom. However, the unpredictability of Paul’s partners — and their victims — turns his plan into a nightmare. I was wondering when we were going to start seeing a wave of economic downturn exploitation flicks. What kills me though is that the film works as a violent romp for about half of the film, then they try to shoehorn Ray Liotta into the mix and Liotta just looks lost. That’s not a slam on Ray Liotta, it’s more of an indicator for how
While I admired the film’s aggressive stance on the kidnapping, everything feels like it peters out in the finale. We’re supposed to be believe that goofy Goths can flip on dime and fuck up a plan that quickly? Seriously? I’m willing to suspend disbelief as much as the next guy, but there are so many jumps in logic during the film that I’m in a stupor only matched by attending the Iowa Straw Poll. Liotta, Garber and Nite Owl Sr. are pretty good as the older men of wealth that can’t understand how this stupid kids cobbled together a plan, but it doesn’t add anything to the overall flow of the film. If you ask me, there was a really good R-rated episode of “Scooby Doo” in this mix.
The Blu-Ray comes with a behind-the-scenes featurette and an alternate ending. The alternate ending doesn’t make the film better, but it allows you to see how the filmmakers seemingly didn’t seem that confident in the resolution. The A/V Quality is pretty strong with a clean 1080p transfer and a slightly compressed Dolby 5.1 track. While the movie is pretty forgettable, you’ll enjoy your time watching the flick. That is unless you hate low-rent thriller flicks. You damn commies.
RELEASE DATE: 09/06/2011
