Shut In (2016)

Shut In (2016)

I wrote this review several years ago. At the time, I didn’t know Jacob Tremblay, who is an excellent actor of the younger generation. I’d almost like to watch this film again (which I hated) just for him!

A right old dud…

…yet another film that had almost everything it needed to be really good, but which, sadly, missed the mark.
So much so that it’s pointless and joins the ranks of films that make us wonder, ‘How can they still make films this bad these days?’
The answer is simple: these are dark times, so either the directors aren’t giving it their all, or they’ve got nothing to offer but make a film anyway.
The film industry revolves too much around money.
It’s a film just for the sake of making a film.
I don’t think Farren Blackburn will be a director whose career I’ll follow closely, and I don’t even want to see what he’s done before.

Warning: there will undoubtedly be spoilers in my review!!!

It’s been a long time since I last saw Oliver Platt, who really isn’t a bad actor. But his glory days seem to be over. We’re a long way from The Forbidden Experiment. He plays a shadow of his former self, an underused psychologist who goes from being a pseudo-hero to a victim. Isn’t that what he’s become in Hollywood: a victim?
As for Naomi Watts, she’s an excellent actress, almost perfect, who must really enjoy portraying fear and oppression (since the film’s title is Oppression in some French-speaking countries). She’s often faced with sudden shocks and must enjoy looking after children. I wonder if she’s a fulfilled mother in real life?!
The fact is, I’m going to give it 2 stars anyway for her performance, as well as for the film’s ending, which I liked despite its predictability.

The film poster is nice. Especially the original version where you see Naomi, a hand on a window that looks frozen, covered in condensation. On the French poster, you see the actress, her panicked face brightly lit by the sun, behind a blind whose slats you can make out from the shadows.
The music isn’t bad, but it’s the only thing that makes you jump, and that’s annoying. Because the suspense is absolutely bearable in this film. The direction is good, but there are plenty of very slow scenes, no doubt intentional. Well… I hope so!

For the first half hour, I was wondering where this film was heading and what direction it would take. A drama? A ghost story? A monster movie? Aliens? Will there be any horror? Just a mystery?
In the end, it goes down the thriller route. But I think the psychopath’s motives are absolutely ridiculous. I can imagine that this sort of madman really does exist, but they shouldn’t have made him the main character. Anyway… no point in me dwelling any longer on this film, which I’ll probably never watch again! Except, perhaps, for the reason I mentioned right at the start.

Basically, it’s best to give this one a miss!!!