Distorted

Greetings again from the darkness. Being startled awake by a nightmare is disconcerting for all of us. When that dream is strobe-like with flashes to a personal tragedy, the horrifying images carryover into daily life, impacting one's mental stability. Such is the new-norm for Lauren (played by Christina Ricci) as she attempts to recover from a disaster of which we are only provided glimpses and hints until later in the film (although it's pretty obvious). Lauren admits to being scared to rejoin the world - she hasn't even been able to resume putting her art on canvas.

Director Rob W King (HUNGRY HILLS, 2009) teams with writer Arne Olsen (whose work in the 1990's included COP AND A ½, RED SCORPION, MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS: THE MOVIE) in an attempt to deliver a high-tech psychological thriller ... a sub-genre that has yet to be successfully conquered, cinematically speaking. Lauren and her husband, played by Brendan Fletcher, decide the best move for her sanity and their marriage is to move from the city to the suburbs. They choose The Pinnacle, a luxury condo with ultra high-tech and modern amenities so extreme it's known as "the smart building".

Typically having a building be the villain doesn't work out so well from a story-telling perspective, so of course, paranoia and conspiracy theories are dwelled upon. An obvious choice of the "Beautiful Dreamer" song is repeatedly slipped into scenes to cause Lauren further queasiness. As she becomes increasingly suspicious, and convinced evil is afoot, she crosses paths with a mysterious dark web figure played by John Cusack - a character so predictable that he whispers in conversations, wears a black hoodie, and works in a secret computer lair. As others try to convince Lauren her medications for depression are either too much or too little, Cusack feeds her the age old line ... you aren't paranoid if they are watching you.

Christina Ricci has been acting since she was 10 years old, and here she performs admirably in a film that, bottom line, doesn't deliver. The movie has the vibe of a cheesy TV show, kind of a rip-off of "Westworld" or "I, Robot", though it does tease us with the possibilities of electronic hypnosis and manipulation through subliminal images. Our ever-increasingly digital world, and the dangers that come with such power, are a real world problem that, for whatever reason, just hasn't transferred well to the big screen yet.

The description looked intriguing but it didn't live up to the expectation. I was mostly bored and the story wasn't interesting. It started slow and didn't explain things like why everyone scratched their neck or the significance of "Beautiful Dreamer" playing a lot.

This is supposed to be a movie that is full of suspense and mind control but it just doesn't make the mark. Christina Ricci comes off very cold. I think that she plays most of her roles in that way but in this she is also trying to portray mentally unstable and super paranoid and I just wasn't feeling her at all. Which is unfortunate because I have enjoyed her in so many things. I was expecting John Cusack to have a larger role and he ended up with maybe 5-10 minutes of screen time. He's been a bit iffy for me since I watched Cell. I only felt moments of intensity during the flashing scenes. I'm just a bit disappointed.

If there is a movie that is not convincing, this is one of them. I am a little surprised at Ricci being in this, and not surprised that Cusack is. What ever happened to Cusack, are these the only parts on offer to him these days? The movie starts off OK, then folds beneath your eyes. In fact, I was laughing from when Cusack entered the scene. I am blaming the director and editing on this. He is just terrible. The scenes with him are trying to empasise intrigue and mystery and ended up a shambles. Really, I can't say much more, becasue in reality, the movie dosen't deserve it. I'm giving 5 stars for Ricci's sake.

Without exaggeration, this is a horrendous film. It's as if a 3rd grader had an idea that was about some science experiment with a mumbo jumbo describption about impacting minds. All you need is some really cool flashing images of horrible things, lights and weird stuff to add to the mood as if they would have any impact on the purpose of the experiment. Then draw it out for 90+ minutes. The ending... laughable and painful in its awkward amateurism. It's just par for the course.

Seeing Christina Ricci's name was a surprise. John Cusack has been associated with D films over the past several years and this is no exception. I have no idea who has been helping him select his projects but this is yet another to add to the "what were they thinking" pile.

PS - I don't think they did too much research on the true nature of psychological problems. It would have helped a great deal if they had.