Amber Branson100 Feet
Ah, "SyFy" channel. The home of all the bad movies you could possibly want.
From the guide description: "Famke Janssen stars in this haunted-house tale about a woman who is sentenced to house arrest after she killed her abusive spouse in self-defense."
Now, my first issue with this is that if a case is ruled self-defense, there shouldn't BE a "sentence" after that judgment. In the movie, the spouse in question was a cop, but that shouldn't affect the situation after the ruling. Especially when Janssen's character was apparently in prison for an extended period of time (supposedly during the trial) and seems to have been attacked while incarcerated--any "sentence" following the ruling should have been reduced to time served.
Maybe I've watched too many crime shows.
The title comes from the limit of her house arrest monitor: her ankle bracelet will allow her to move within a 100-foot radius of the base unit. During the first few minutes of the movie, it's shown that the alarm starts beeping if she goes to the foyer of her house, or to the basement. But she has three minutes after the alarm starts before the police are alerted. She is sentenced to a year of house arrest, her neighbors are giving her the cold shoulder, and the local market delivers. With that, the "realistic" elements of the movie have been set up. (Of course, a plot hole: The standard residential floor is at most 8 feet high, with a central position in the house, the base unit shouldn't be more than 30 feet above the basement. Probably less.)
There aren't many characters with acting to critique. Janssen, as the star, is also the best of the actors; when questioned about bruises by her dead husband's former partner, she manages a convincing blend of battered housewife and New Yorker tough girl in her responses to him.
As the cop, Bobby Cannavale does not do an impressive job. He starts the movie barking angry, stakes out Janssen's house, demands to know who really killed her husband when he suspects someone is still beating on her, then immediately turns on her with accusations of insanity when she reveals her husband is haunting the house. Sure, it can be blamed on the writing, but even his delivery of the schizophrenic turns is unconvincing.
Ed Westwick is the young man delivering groceries and befriending Jannsen. He doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he is charming and believable.
It can be inferred from a conversation Janssen and Westwick have that the house was empty for about two years, maybe a little more; yet after the first ghostly encounter, there is suddenly a cat hanging out with Janssen's character--before she is visited by her sister, before she is visited by anyone other than the cop. Did one of the neighbors who won't even talk to her take the cat in, then bring it by? Did she take it in off the street, somehow well-fed and healthy?
(And since I'm watching this on television: Why can we show an obvious sex scene, but not say "shit"?)
Anything further might venture into spoiler territory. The movie isn't bad overall, containing more good actors than bad, and being comparatively good for the budget. Horror movies tend to require a suspension of disbelief anyway, so it's worth checking out if you're a fan of Janssen or Westwick, or the genre in general, despite the plot holes.
From the guide description: "Famke Janssen stars in this haunted-house tale about a woman who is sentenced to house arrest after she killed her abusive spouse in self-defense."
Now, my first issue with this is that if a case is ruled self-defense, there shouldn't BE a "sentence" after that judgment. In the movie, the spouse in question was a cop, but that shouldn't affect the situation after the ruling. Especially when Janssen's character was apparently in prison for an extended period of time (supposedly during the trial) and seems to have been attacked while incarcerated--any "sentence" following the ruling should have been reduced to time served.
Maybe I've watched too many crime shows.
The title comes from the limit of her house arrest monitor: her ankle bracelet will allow her to move within a 100-foot radius of the base unit. During the first few minutes of the movie, it's shown that the alarm starts beeping if she goes to the foyer of her house, or to the basement. But she has three minutes after the alarm starts before the police are alerted. She is sentenced to a year of house arrest, her neighbors are giving her the cold shoulder, and the local market delivers. With that, the "realistic" elements of the movie have been set up. (Of course, a plot hole: The standard residential floor is at most 8 feet high, with a central position in the house, the base unit shouldn't be more than 30 feet above the basement. Probably less.)
There aren't many characters with acting to critique. Janssen, as the star, is also the best of the actors; when questioned about bruises by her dead husband's former partner, she manages a convincing blend of battered housewife and New Yorker tough girl in her responses to him.
As the cop, Bobby Cannavale does not do an impressive job. He starts the movie barking angry, stakes out Janssen's house, demands to know who really killed her husband when he suspects someone is still beating on her, then immediately turns on her with accusations of insanity when she reveals her husband is haunting the house. Sure, it can be blamed on the writing, but even his delivery of the schizophrenic turns is unconvincing.
Ed Westwick is the young man delivering groceries and befriending Jannsen. He doesn't get a lot of screen time, but he is charming and believable.
It can be inferred from a conversation Janssen and Westwick have that the house was empty for about two years, maybe a little more; yet after the first ghostly encounter, there is suddenly a cat hanging out with Janssen's character--before she is visited by her sister, before she is visited by anyone other than the cop. Did one of the neighbors who won't even talk to her take the cat in, then bring it by? Did she take it in off the street, somehow well-fed and healthy?
(And since I'm watching this on television: Why can we show an obvious sex scene, but not say "shit"?)
Anything further might venture into spoiler territory. The movie isn't bad overall, containing more good actors than bad, and being comparatively good for the budget. Horror movies tend to require a suspension of disbelief anyway, so it's worth checking out if you're a fan of Janssen or Westwick, or the genre in general, despite the plot holes.
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