Cast: Mary McCormack, Rory Cochrane, Tony Perez; Director: Chris Gorak; Producers: Jonah Smith, Palmer West; Screenwriter: Chris Gorak; Music: Tomandandy; Editor: Jeffrey M. Werner; Genre: Disaster; Cinematography: Tom Richmond; Distributor: Viva Film; Location: L.os Angeles, California; Running Time: 96 Min.;Technical Assessment: 2.5
Moral Assessment: 2.5
CINEMA Rating: For viewers 14 and above
Brad (Rory Cochrane), a struggling musician, and his bread winner wife Lexi (Mary McCormack), have just moved into the suburbs of LA. On an ordinary weekday, Lexi goes to work while Brad tends to the house when a series of bombs goes off in several places. Apparently these bombs are laden with a chemical that would cause an exposed person to get very sick and die. Authorities tell the people to lock up in their houses to avoid contamination. Brad spends half the film’s time trying to find his wife and dodging polive and barricades but to no avail. He returns home and seals up his house with the help of the neighbor’s gardener, Alvaro (Tony Perez), leaving a box of provisions outside for Lexi. She finally shows up at their doorsteps - infected, ill and dying. Brad painfully decides to lock her out of the house as he cannot jeopardize his own life.
The premise of the plot has a lot of potential for a touching and riveting human drama however, the script has failed to develop the characters and establish a relationship with the audience that it is hard to relate with them to offer any sympathy for their predicament. The scripting and plot development could have been greatly improved as it is presented like an over-stretched 30 minute production. The acting is commendable, while the sound and music are suitable. Technically, the movie is adequate with good vision from Gorak and a brilliant interplay of grays and blues with a tight, though jerky, framing. Richmond is able to recreate a dramatically pristine but terrifying ash fall effect. For a low-budget film, the production is satisfactory.
In the movie Right At Your Door “Till death do us part”… sounds meaningless when a couple is faced with a critical choice that might jeopardize their survival. The spectator realizes that this situation is no longer rare today. Loyalty and sacrifice seems to longer occupy a place in marriage and choosing between the self and the partner becomes easier and easier as people become more self-centered and self-absorbed to care about the person one promised to love and to cherish for the rest of his life.
The movie is also about the fear-mongering encouraged by the media as it throws conflicted information and sensationalism in crisis situations. The media seems to add more confusion and panic than give clarity and guidance. In the end, what we usually regard as the pillar of truth and enlightenment, aggravates a predicament a million times worse than it should be.
