The final Christy pick of 2016!Angela (Rachel Nichols) is working late on Christmas Eve. When she finally manages to get everything done, the whole building is locked down and her car won't start. She has to find the creepy security guy (Wes Bentley) to let her back into the elevator so she can go to the lobby and call a cab. Surprise, surprise, creepy security guy doesn't want her to leave and chloroforms her. She wakes up chained to a table so they can "get to know one another better" over dinner.
This is a little too one-note to be a great horror or thriller film. It does get points for being realistic in calling men out for the "Nice Guy" act. Tom the security guy keeps telling Angela how lucky she is that he is there for her and whining about how unappreciative she is being when she very clearly states that she doesn't want anything to do with him. Minus the part where he kidnaps her and kills several people, this is an experience many women have had. Reddit has an entire sub-thread devoted to stories like this.
Now, I'm not saying men can't be nice or ladies should be suspicious every time a man is nice to you. I'm saying there's a subset of males who think being "nice" (their version) entitles them to your attention, time, and/or sexual favors. Spoiler alert: it does not.
Now that I've lauded the movie on its feminist principles, let's move on to talking about how it sucks. There's nothing particularly original about the story or setting. The two main roles could have been played by anyone, which is actually a compliment to the universal nature of the story, but also kind of a dig toward both actors. Bentley and Nichols didn't bring anything to the table the director couldn't have gotten from kids fresh out of summer stock. Maybe they're obscure enough that doesn't bother you.
Also, the ending. The vast majority of you can probably figure out exactly what happens just from reading the synopsis and having seen 9000 movies like this before but I'll put it in white just in case. Highlight it with your mouse to see. ***SPOILER ALERT: Okay, so she manages to fake him out about being unconscious long enough to handcuff him to the door of the car. Now she's free and has a clear path to the exit and safety. Then he calls her The C Word. So she turns around and ignites the trail of gasoline, which immolates the car and him. With me? Okay. That, my friends, is straight-up murder. Not self-defense. And it makes her just as bad as him. "But Lucy," you say, "he had kidnapped, tortured, and harassed her. Doesn't she deserve a little payback?" To which I reply, yes, sure, but not for being called a cunt. Like, you've been Tazed, drugged, and had to watch a creepy video about your assaulter putting makeup on you while you were passed out, but having someone yell a slur at you when you've already won, THAT'S the last straw? No. END SPOILERS***
TL;DR: This isn't the worst horror film you could watch but it's not great. Maybe recommend it to your friend who just had a horrible break-up.
At one time, Wes Bentley had a lot of promise. Between Joel Schumacher screwing up the Batman franchise, and Christopher Nolan righting the ship, Darren Aronovsky was considered to direct a Batman movie, with Wes Bentley starring. It probably would have been a home run, except both actor AND director wanted it to be "Batman, but no money", and they actually almost got it. (Storyboards exist) Bentley is usually a decent actor, but not as a star. He does do creepy-tortured soul well, but...ugh. This movie was a tropefest, yeah...I didn't make it through all the way.
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