RIGHT AT YOUR DOOR

LIONSGATE UK

RELEASED 8 September 2006

Here we have a low-budget look at what might happen if a major city was to be attacked by ‘dirty’ bombs. Brad (Rory Cochrane) is a late-night musician who makes his wife Lexie (Mary McCormack) breakfast in bed before she gets dressed and rushes off into the centre of Los Angeles for work. It seems like just another day, but suddenly the radio announces multiple ‘dirty’ (toxic chemicals) bombs have been detonated in LA, and Brad’s attempts to drive into the centre are halted by police cars blocking the road. Brad is torn between going out again to look for his wife and staying put in case she returns. All he can do is tape himself up inside his house and wait for the approaching toxic cloud to pass over the house. The radio is his only link with the outside world and it stresses he must stay put for his own safety.

Filmed handheld, with some simple but effective shots of the deadly cloud (courtesy of special effects), the film creates the fear you would imagine in a suburban environment if such a thing was to happen. Mysterious army and police officers roam the streets herding up people and swinging flashlights into houses after midnight. ‘Right at your Door’ generates a genuine atmosphere of tension and uncertainty.

Unfortunately, the story feels long at ninety-five minutes, there is virtually no character development, and the script appears to be mainly improvised, with no memorable lines. The acting is good, but the film is almost totally ruined at the end by a completely unnecessary ‘twist’ that spoils much of what has gone before. 

TWO OUT OF FIVE