Finally A Stalker Film With A "Real" Motive That's Not Ridiculous

Brakathor

The moral of the story is, don't do prison time for selfish bitches. Indeed it's NEVER a good idea to do time for a crime you didn't commit. That being said, this is the first stalker movie I've seen in ages where the stalker's motive isn't completely ridiculous. Arguably his position is TOO sympathetic, because if you do time for somebody, typically not just the expectation, but the OBLIGATION is a quid pro quo result.

If the mother wasn't going to stay in a relationship with the guy, she should have turned herself in from the start, but instead she let him serve a full sentence for a crime he didn't commit. That kind of makes the protagonist in this story SO much worse than the antagonist, not to mention the fact that she killed a guy on his own property within the opening minutes of the film. The irony I suppose, is letting the guy kill her boyfriend would have in fact probably made her less of a piece of scheisse. Films that deal with questions of moral turpitude sure are a lot of fun.

Overall it's a very basic screenplay with threadbare dialogue even, which is somewhat typical of most TV movies these days. Louis Mandylor as the jealous ex-lover, in large part, completely sells the movie as a concept, the main standout scene being his confrontation with the mother's husband. What this film really has going for it though, is the very atypical realism of the whole underlying "stalker" situation. As the viewer, you'll likely feel inner conflict over the scenario you've been presented with. It therefore succeeds very well in drawing the viewer in and holding one's interest, for the simple reason that, unlike most stalker movies, it deals with sacrifice and loss in a way that's relatable.

If you've ever been in a relationship where you've given more than you got back, or maybe feel guilty for not reciprocating what you feel you should have or could have, you'll likely be getting JUST a little bit more out of this film, than you would out of, say, the typical thriller/stalker film where the antagonist is either ridiculously in love at first sight, with no real depth of character explored, or thriller/stalker films where the antagonist is seeking revenge for something often half-baked or accidental, in a way that's over the top, and where the ends don't in any way justify the means. That's what I'm personally all too used to seeing with this type of formula, so with this film came a slight refreshing illumination for the genre.

score 7/10

Brakathor 16 July 2016

Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw3505789/