[Stuck]
Plot:A young woman commits a hit-and-run, then finds her fate tied to her victim.

Cast: Mena Suvari, Bunthivy Nou, Wayne Robson, Carolyn Purdy-Gordon, Stephen Rea, R.D. Reid, Suzanne Short, Patrick McKenna, Rukiya Bernard, Lionel Mark Smith, Russell Hornsby, Wally McKinnon, John Dartt, Liam McNamara, Shûko Akune.

My Thoughts:Watchable blend of drama and horror.

Review:"Stuck" is Stuart Gordon's "ripped from the headlines" horror/drama pic which follows two intersecting stories of two intersecting people. One being a young woman named Brandi (Suvari) Boski, a nurses assistant who just received a promotion at work to head Nurses Assistant. The other being a man named Thomas Bardo (Rea) who's life is headed in the opposite direction. He's just lost his apartment, and has also been shafted by the unemployment office (a pretty comical scene to watch unfold).

Both persons have their respective life positions change all in one day, and they also change later that night when while hanging out, Brandi accidentally plows into Bardo with her car, impaling him in her windshield. She drives home with him in her windshield, and then decides to just leave him there until she figures out what to do next. But a visit from ehr boyfriend Rashid (Hornsby) convicnes her to just forget about the incident and move on. But Bardo isn't that forgiving, and eventually does eveything in his power to get help before he expires.

This films story was actually taken from a real-life incident which occured a few years ago in Texas...where a woman smashed into a homeless man and left him to die in her windshield after driving home with him stuck in her car window, and then just left him there. She occasionally returned to check on the man, and even apologized to him during those visits. But she never tried to free him or call for medical attention. He later died. In this film, Bardo is not a homeless man per say, but a man who was just recently forced to live out of his car after losing his apartment when his unemployment insurance ran out.

The film plays out similar to how the real life incident played out, sadly....except the finale does offer quite the surprising yet justifiable climax. Rea, Hornsby, and Suvari are the films major players...along with a few other members of the supporting cast who make rare appearances. But Rea, Suvari, and Hornsby are all talented actors and therefore keeping those three as the focal point of the story isn't a bad idea and works really well in this movie. Suvari as Brandi goes through a range of emotions before and after the incident....but mostly after. However, her character will cause many viewers to be repulsed due to her behavior towards this man she just crashed into.

Yet at the same time, there is a sliver of understanding of her actions. Not much....but a slight sliver considering the possibilities that exist of being charged with murder or attempted homicide in a situation or scenario which is simply just a tragic accident. However, I felt my slight bit of pity and empathy for ehr slipping away more and more a the film went on, and a big shift in attitude and actions of her character late in the third act pretty much stomped out ALL empathy from my point of view. Hornsby's character Rashid isn't exactly the most moral person himself, and you can kind of see how maybe Brandi has become this cold person when you see Rashid as her significant other, a guy who is the typical film-sleazeball who cheats, lies, and even feeds her drugs....classic.

"Stuck" doesn't offer up any scares, but as a horror movie it pushes a horrific situation onto the viewer and tries to put them into Bardo's shoes so see what a horrific experience he's going through as a guy who for the most part, is a straight and narrow character. With no shady or suspect side whatsoever. He is however a character who has a terrible run of bad luck, and that really makes you switch your empathy over to his side of the spectrum really quickly. Especially when he eventually tries to free himself from the shattered window. Blood and gore fans aren't gonna find much here, except when the initial accident happens which in itself is a well done scene, yet not very bloody....but bloody somewhat.

"Stuck" is really a character driven, situation horror movie. It's a film for the thinking horror fan who appreciates a really screwed up situation, and watching it all play out on screne in all it's morbidness and twistedness. Yet at the same time not minding if the usual slasher elements are missing such a sblood, gore, and graphic violence. "Stuck" may bore some people, but it didn't bore me. The acting was top notch, the scenairo was well written and played out very well in the context of the movie, and the ending was good as well. It's definitely a movie I'd recommend to most people.

Positives:Good performances, good story, modest entertainment value, and a great ending.

Negatives:Nothing major.

Overall:Three out of four stars.





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