When Strangers Appear

Rating:
Summary: VLP-077
Review: To the reveiwer from Canada. Thanks for the revelation that the movie was filmed in New Zealand. I was wondering why the cop's squad car and wife's SUV had the same license plate, supposedly Oregon VLP-077.

Edge of your seat thriller. Josh Lucas is awesomely manipulative in this film. Radha plays a tough waitress/restaurant owner trying to shake off an unpleasant past, and perhaps her addiction to cigarrettes.

Rating:
Summary: clever little movie
Review: When Strangers Appear is a clever film. It puts you into the shoes of someone whose life gets turned upside down, and cannot figure out what is going on. The key character, Beth, has a mundane life until four guys show up in her diner. Three of them seem to be after the other, or maybe not. Soon there is a murder. Various suspicions arise, and every time it seems like she has the answers, things become unclear again. Eventually, she ends up playing the role of one of these four, as yet another hapless victim gets caught up in this mess. We never get all of the answers, but neither does the heroine of this film. Given the nature of this film, the audience should not get all the answers.

The acting and filming are fine. This is a simple and small scale production, so it lacks the effects and settings of a major Hollywood film. It looks like it had a small budget, but this does not matter. What makes this film fun is the suspense and surprises. Predicting what will happen is not impossible, but who wants to know? Just kick back and enjoy the ride. This one is above average.

Rating:
Summary: simple and original thriller
Review: When Strangers Appear puts you into the shoes of someone whose life gets turned upside down, and cannot figure out what is going on. The key character, Beth, has a mundane life until four guys show up in her diner. Three of them seem to be after the other, or maybe not. Soon there is a murder. Various suspicions arise, and every time it seems like she has the answers, things become unclear again. Eventually, she ends up playing the role of one of these four, as yet another hapless victim gets caught up in this mess. We never get all of the answers, but neither does the heroine of this film. Given the nature of this film, the audience should not get all the answers.

The acting and filming are fine. This is a simple and small scale production, so it lacks the effects and settings of a major Hollywood film. It looks like it had a small budget, but this does not matter. What makes this film fun is the suspense and surprises. Predicting what will happen is not impossible, but who wants to know? Just kick back and enjoy the ride. This one is above average.

Rating:
Summary: New Zealand Film!
Review: When Strangers Appear, is the kind of movie that can suck you in, and take you along for a suspenseful, and unpredictable journey. Written and directed by Scott Reynolds, the film is an Australian production, set in of all places, Oregon. The plot unfolds, taking twists and turns, designed to keep you guessing. The film features no big stars, but contains solid performances by the entire cast. Ultimately how much you may enjoy it, may depend on your tolerance for ambiguity. If you need to have total clarity and resolution, you may not be satisfied with the ending. Saying too much, about exactly what happens, would ruin it for those who have not yet seen the movie, but here are some peripheral comments.

Radha Mitchell, is an actress with talent. She was great in ...Pitch Black..., and also plays a strong woman here. Her performance is believable, and rings true throughout. No cheap laughs, or throwaway lines. Her character "Beth", is busy running two businesses. By day, a tiny dinner, and at night, she manages a motel. Barry Watson, gives an edgy performance as a furtive and suspicious drifter who shows up at the diner, claiming that people are after him. Josh Lucas plays a helpful "surfer", one who's concerned about Beth. And Kevin Anderson plays the local lawman, a guy who apparently has problems controlling himself around women, especially Beth.

When Strangers Appear, is an interesting film, with some quirky choices in editing. It starts a bit slow, but the level of violence escalates, at times quite surprisingly. The plot twists keep you guessing, and in the end, you don't know exactly what it was all for. There are some major problems with time sequencing during a standoff scene at the diner, where it goes from noon to dusk in just a few minutes. Also, cars seem to suddenly and silently, appear out of nowhere, a bit too often. The foreign locales could pass for Oregon, unless perhaps you're an expert on trees of the Pacific Northwest. A couple of minor characters, do seem to have a hint of Aussie type accents. The post end credit "post script" doesn't add anything. Though far from perfect, it is still a thriller well worth your time. Radha Mitchell continues to show that she is an actress with much potential.

The DVD contains both widescreen and full screen versions of the movie. The extras are minimal, and the subtitling is not true to the actual dialog.

Rating:
Summary: What¿s all the fuss about?
Review: When Strangers Appear, is the kind of movie that can suck you in, and take you along for a suspenseful, and unpredictable journey. Written and directed by Scott Reynolds, the film is an Australian production, set in of all places, Oregon. The plot unfolds, taking twists and turns, designed to keep you guessing. The film features no big stars, but contains solid performances by the entire cast. Ultimately how much you may enjoy it, may depend on your tolerance for ambiguity. If you need to have total clarity and resolution, you may not be satisfied with the ending. Saying too much, about exactly what happens, would ruin it for those who have not yet seen the movie, but here are some peripheral comments.

Radha Mitchell, is an actress with talent. She was great in ...Pitch Black..., and also plays a strong woman here. Her performance is believable, and rings true throughout. No cheap laughs, or throwaway lines. Her character "Beth", is busy running two businesses. By day, a tiny dinner, and at night, she manages a motel. Barry Watson, gives an edgy performance as a furtive and suspicious drifter who shows up at the diner, claiming that people are after him. Josh Lucas plays a helpful "surfer", one who's concerned about Beth. And Kevin Anderson plays the local lawman, a guy who apparently has problems controlling himself around women, especially Beth.

When Strangers Appear, is an interesting film, with some quirky choices in editing. It starts a bit slow, but the level of violence escalates, at times quite surprisingly. The plot twists keep you guessing, and in the end, you don't know exactly what it was all for. There are some major problems with time sequencing during a standoff scene at the diner, where it goes from noon to dusk in just a few minutes. Also, cars seem to suddenly and silently, appear out of nowhere, a bit too often. The foreign locales could pass for Oregon, unless perhaps you're an expert on trees of the Pacific Northwest. A couple of minor characters, do seem to have a hint of Aussie type accents. The post end credit "post script" doesn't add anything. Though far from perfect, it is still a thriller well worth your time. Radha Mitchell continues to show that she is an actress with much potential.

The DVD contains both widescreen and full screen versions of the movie. The extras are minimal, and the subtitling is not true to the actual dialog.