STALKED *** UK 2019 Dir: Justin Edgar. 85 mins
As Sam jogs through a great woodland scene at the start of this well made stalker fear thriller from 104 Films it made me feel like I was revisiting the Silence Of The Lambs all over again with a touch of Doctor Who thrown in for good measure later on.
Sam, the central character and played well by Rebecca Rogers, is an army officer and struggling single mum who ends up being kidnapped Buffalo Bill style in broad daylight and held captive in a remote warehouse where a frenetic and taunting game of cat and mouse ensues. Her strange and evil kidnapper orders her in a very dark and strange voice to play the game which she most definitely does in a great combo of both Clarice Starling and Lara Croft. Can Sam use her wits and commando training to escape and defeat her wicked captor?
The scenery in the film is shot and presented well by Graham Allsop and Liam Iandoli and the classical score by Phil Mountford lulls you with menace into what develops into an action packed adventure thriller that is crammed with desperation and fear as Sam overcomes many obstacles in her struggle to outwit a very Predator-like and warped enemy who has access to some very effective and impressive modern military hardware.
The use of a derelict warehouse really brings across a lot of edginess and fear that the directing team use very well and when Sam shows her military training in action the realism adds a lot to what becomes a fast moving and tense stalking nightmare of a film whose plot is both intensely personal and very involving. If you can suspend your disbelief just a little you will discover a very enjoyable thrill ride if you allow the well written tension to envelop your senses.
In all honesty, I never knew that warehouses could be such fun and scary places, but this movie showed me that they most definitely can be as it makes some brilliant use of effective camerawork, sound effects and hard-hitting dialogue to punch across what is a very atmospheric thriller and as you pound along through Sam’s hellish attempt to escape a crazed, deadly and clever monster you will discover a wonderful story that twists into you like a long knife into your stomach.
Review by Nathan Sandiford
STALKED is available on Amazon