Review of Right at Your Door (2006) by Elizabeth H — 01 Feb 2010

You have probably never heard of this film because it didn't get a wide release. It was lost among many other experimental films of this sort. This one works enough to give you some chills and ramp up the paranoia to new heights. A lot of you may object to this film because there isn't really anything that is involving or super awesome. But that is not the point, this is a situation study. If chemical bombs were to go off in LA, what wold happen. Well all I have to say is that this movie would happen. Using some nice performances from the very small cast, Right At Your Door may dwell too much on the drama than the chills, but the realism and the fact that you are in the same position as the characters make this film worth a look.

Its a very cool premise I must say. When daily life is happening among the two main characters, chemical bombs explode is LA causing mass panic and confusion. What director Chris Gorak does so well is he keeps you with these characters the whole movie inside their home leaving to your imagination who or why is behind these attacks. Another thing he does is bring in the issue of values. What would you do in an emergency such as this? With the radio constantly blaring information in the background, the sealing up of a house and not knowing who to trust, the environment is eerily familiar to many people. Its a movie that works on the fact of realism, and it does a great job of displaying that.

The acting is also above par in this one, however many characters really have no point aside from the main ones. But the main ones serve their purpose well. Rory Cochrane ges way above and beyond his CSI: Miami days turning in a nice taut performance that we can go along with. We also have Mary McCormack as his wife as she is hrown right into the middle of all the hell that is breaking loose outside the home. Their performance anchor the movie in a nice place, but it also prevents the movie from expanding on what were some good ideas. The movie focuses on the characters too much and I would have like to have seen even a small glimpse of some other conflicts. But for the drama unfolding between them, it is decent.

The big problem with this movie is that despite the chilling realism, the paranoia leaves after awhile and becomes bland. There are a few events here and there that pop up, and granted this has you really wanting an explanation, but the events are merely there to try and kick start the movie again. There's no big scares or gigantic pay off, but the tension and questions are quite effectively picking at your brain. Personally I would have liked to have seen both some scares and suspense, but if you like these quiet effective movies, you may enjoy this more than I did. I appreciated what the director did with such a small budget, but this realism can only be taken so far until you need to shoot some excitement into the screen.

This movie made only $65 000 in North America, so I am not even sure if that covered the budget of this movie. When you look at it, you really appreciate the film making and the fact that the movie is set in one location the entire time, but these real events hit you and then they wear off after awhile. The ambition of this film is big but I only wish it could have gone a bit further. It leaves you with many question, so take that for what you will, but I like it when people try to do something different, a rarity in Hollywood these days. Ironically, Right At Your Door is set in Hollywood, but there is nothing Hollywood about it. It wraps you in a cocoon of paranoia why spouting out real events and characters. But the lack of excitement and the need for a punch hinder the movie from what could have been a well crafted low budget paranoia thriller. Instead Right At Your Door is only a sporadically entertaining movie.

RENT IT.