The film in question from the most recent (at the moment) stack of works by David DeCoto turned out to be quite curious. He starred in his personal studio “Rapid Heart”, but is not a shoddy fake erotic orientation with half-dressed guys who have long been on the production line at the untalented author, so there is artistic value. Naturally, the traditional modest studio opportunities are on the face: almost the entire scene is closed in one mansion, which often appears in other paintings by DeCoto, a small number of people are involved in the production. However, for the format of history, this does not interfere at all. Before us family-household thriller, so minimalism is only good, not looking like a low-budget horror story. The plot is not new in the genre, but it is difficult to get bored, because it concentrates on a realistic plot conflict with a happy family, where a two-faced psychopath penetrates. Everyday background enhances at times the desired effect of suspense, forcing with interest to observe what is happening on the screen, waiting for the apogee.
It all begins with a wealthy American family, consisting of a husband, wife and her teenage daughter, met on the doorstep of a young guy who claims to be the son of a man who left him with his mother many years ago. Having opened his arms to a smiling young man, feeling remorse and responsibility before him, the family is threatened by a treacherous guest, bearing terrible revenge, operating from the inside. In fact, the situation is banal and extremely frequent in our society, because of which it receives an audience response, being a “life thriller”, because we all, one way or another, face family relationships of various configurations, and we can easily understand the range of feelings of the characters, taking someone’s side or experiencing negative emotions towards someone.
Hotly beloved by the boys of the 90s, action star Gary Daniels performs his father. It should be noted that his role is atypical, which is interesting. It is clear that he is far from dramatic, who sympathized with us more with his natural energy and simple, but understandable heroes with excellent martial arts skills, which are not to be found in this project. Daniels, who has crossed the fifty-year mark of life, although still in impeccable physical shape, praiseworthyly tries to play exclusively as an actor, using in the arsenal of emotions and feelings that can feel a man who once committed an unworthy act. He clearly conveyed a depressed state of remorse, but with a mixed sense of trick, because he did not receive accurate evidence of kinship with his new son, sensing some deception. This is the “bulge” of the character with ambiguous polarity, when there are doubts about his positivity, if he is wary of his child, who brought a certain discord into former family relations, undermining authority. But perhaps intuition doesn’t lie to make you watch out for strangers, which is reasonable for an adult who should always listen to reason. Especially if he's the head of the family. His on-screen wife Vivika A. Fox harmoniously coped with the task of playing a soulful woman who is kindly configured to another child in the desire to give him support, balancing on the controversial edge with an overly trusting person who would not be a sin to protect the family in advance from outside encroachments. The image of the young daughter was superficial, which was eclipsed by a more amusing peer, even if it was given to the same novice and still faceless actor. Evil and flawed to the limit (only a defective young man will devote his life to hatred of the past, when there are so many beautiful and interesting things waiting ahead), undergrowth turned out to be frighteningly insidious and deceptively harmless, able to speculate on the position of his person, perverting the kindness received to himself for evil.
Alas, you can find some blunders in the script, inappropriately simplifying the plot and the apogee of the conflict, only for every sense of a modest thriller with notes of drama, you do not need much. The picture is shot with a reference to the television format of the cable channel, where you do not need saturated action, but you need an entertaining story, which we can get when watching. In addition, the cast tries as much as they can and as much as they can, where it is necessary to resort to natural flair than professional lyceum skills - this is especially noticeable in the adult couple Daniels and Fox. Also, David DeCoto in the director’s chair wisely oversees the process, because, for example, his frequent cameraman Howard Wexler works with the camera, without suffering from “brand” trembling hands and lack of coordination. Apparently, a rule applies to it, similar to artists who must remain hungry to create, and operators must be sober to shoot.
In general, I think the film is able to brighten up the evening for any average viewer who deliberately included a television thriller, not to mention those interested in the work of a prolific, gifted, but not always conscientious director, and about mature boys who are curious to look at a hero from childhood, not for the first time trying to move away from the genre of action movie, trying to demonstrate not so monosyllabic characters who made his name.
5 out of 10