Review of Long Distance (2005) by Mike I — 08 Jan 2008

Upon a visit to Rogers Video, I noticed this film sitting all on its own, and figured that it would be another one of those "When A Stranger Calls" knock offs, but thankfully, it was totally different.

I will honestly say this was one of those films that with the right ammount of money in their budget, this could have actually made it to theatres and done all right for itself. It was by far a better story, with a bigger twist than "When A Stranger Calls" and had the perfect ingredients for a film that could have had legs at the box office.

One star here for the acting. In alot of the straight to DVD films, the acting is the first to see the effects of budget cutting and poor support. However, all the actors and actresses were well casted and well executed.

One star for orginality of plot, along with a good surprise twist ending. This is something I've been waiting to see for a long time, and I finally got the chance to see this on screen. Everything stuck together perfectly with the glue of the backstory, and allowed for the twist to be executed without a hitch, and without loose ends.

One star for thrill factor, and a good pace overall. Not too hokey with the side love story- to be honest, the pace was done well for that because I actually kept thinking to myself "these two definitely have something there...right?!" but overall, well done in that department. The thrills were fun- nothing over the top.

In the end, I was extremely satisfied with this film for what it was. Straight to DVD films are always hit or miss, and there's bound to be some real gems out there. I'm not saying this is one of those "gems" but this was definitely like finding a 5 dollar bill on the street. It's not something that will impact you completely, but it still brightens your day, and that's what "Long Distance" did.