Good stepmother. With the light hand of screenwriter Wesley Strick (this filmmaker has such famous paintings as “Cape of Fear”, “Final Analysis”, “The Wolf”) in 2001, a new psychological thriller called “The Glass House” was born. We can’t say that there was a huge excitement about this film, it, in general, even passed somehow unnoticed, but, nevertheless, this film could not be attributed to a bad movie. Despite the fact that “Glass House” did not gain much fame, the creators of the television sequels turned their eyes to it (perhaps Daniel Sackheim, the director of the original picture, who is himself for the most part a serial director, helped in this case). And so in 2006, the second part of the psychological thriller “Glass House” with the subtitle “Deathly Care”, which has nothing to do with the original “The Good Mother” (I think you don’t need to translate).
Of course, the sequel to "Deathly Care" can be called very, very conditionally. The second part is not a continuation of the first, the characters did not migrate, only the general plot remained. And this plot is that the young sister and brother (this time Abby and Ethan Snow) lose their parents early and they are offered new guardians (the Eve and Raymond Hood couple). At first, guardians seem very nice and kind people, but soon there are strange metamorphoses in their behavior, aggression begins to slip, there is no love for new children. It is clear that adults are hiding a terrible secret, but what? What are they pursuing and what dangers await their sister and brother? We are offered to understand all this, as viewers, although it is best to conveniently sit down and completely indulge in viewing, if there is no desire and mood to criticize the picture. Then she'll be a good time.
Of course, there is something to criticize the film for. The very fact that “Deathly Care” was released only on video media immediately tells a sophisticated viewer that this is a low-budget film of not the highest quality, where you will not find stars of the first magnitude. With all due respect to Angie Harmon and Joel Gretsch, who played Eve and Raymond Hood, respectively, they are second-tier actors, although they were seen in large projects (for example, Harmon left good memories after the tape “Ask Cindy”, and Gretsch did not interfere with the star company in “The Legend of Bager Vance”). So, all the criticism will flow on the quality of the tape, on the lack of a sufficient tense atmosphere, on the fading of the camera work, a template plot based on the first Glass House. But if you give up on it all and understand that the picture should not require a fountaining effect, it is quite possible to watch “Deathly Care”, empathizing with those who got into trouble in this tape.
As mentioned above, the absence of stars also affects the overall impression of the film. Angie Harmon in the role of Eves Goode (it is worth noting that the creators of the picture allowed themselves some allegory, calling it “The Good Mother”, and the main role performer’s surname is just Goode) gradually took the main action, that is, the behavior of her character depended on what development awaits everyone else in this chilling (or so it should be) soul story. In the first part, the main female role was played by Diane Lane, whose character caused some stupor and shock, something similar happens when all the terrible secrets of Eve Goode are revealed. To be honest, in this aspect, the creators of “Deathly Custody” went even further than those who made the first “Glass House”. But Raymond Goode remained a misunderstood personality, because it is not clear what moved him. So the woman was registered well, and the man was kind of indistinct. But Jordan Hinson and Bobby Coleman, who played children, left almost nothing about themselves in their memories, although their characters were registered normally. And there is still a significant role for Jason London, but somehow he played as well as the children.
In general, “Deathly custody” may well be suitable for a one-time viewing, if the waiting list does not contain multimillion-dollar blockbusters. First of all, “Deathly Care” can be watched by fans of psychological thrillers, not shy of films of this genre with a low budget. And also to see it can those who are interested to see how women can turn out. If you are interested, look at this.
6 out of 10
P.S. And the director of “Deathly Custody” Steve Entin, who debuted in this role with him, the second and so far the last film in this capacity will be “Burlex”. This is the way cinematic inscrutable...