It’s not just the threat of violence that turns this into torture. Schilling) and trigger-finger Natalie ( Emily Sweet) tie Susan up, and figure out Heather’s there, too. The blood on Keith’s hand, which we see even though Susan doesn’t, answers that question. Or it might be just who the cops are looking for. ![]() And that last car pulling up the drive might be that one “over asking price” offer. But they can’t get out the door without noticing the police sirens, lights and helicopters. Heather drops by to surprise her at day’s end. We see the “5/4” with its “game room,” in-house theater, CCTV cameras and lockdown systems via Susan’s tours on open house day. Jennifer Taylor of “Shameless” and “Two and Half Men” is struggling agent Susan Daniels, trying to get her smart-mouthed daughter ( Julia Terranova) out the door to college so that she can sell their house, and maybe sell this Everett Canyon mansion, with “70 fenced in acres” she’s just landed as a listing so that she can get them out of debt. But let’s be bigger than our worst or most annoying “realtor” experiences, shall we? Yes, I know that “she probably had it coming” is a lot of people’s first reaction to that scenario. "The Hostage" can feel forced and weepy, but it does have its effective spells and the acting is above-average to make you kinda glad you stole away for the ride.“Hostage House” is a half-speed thriller about a real estate agent trapped in the “open house” from hell. Certain moments in the black and white script can lead to some sequences stalling the pace, especially when it's not focusing on the two thugs and the kid. An overwrought and sappy soundtrack is a bit off-putting, and the music score sounds too generic to sustain or create any sort of feeling and tension. Helping out on the smoky atmosphere, was Ted Mikels' stark photography of the locations of Des Moines, Iowa and a washed-out (I don't think it was on purpose) colour scheme. ![]() Doughten did a sturdily realized job, where his framework is taut and nicely demonstrates few moody and sinister images. Danny Martins is rather decent in the child role, even though at times he got on my nerves, he was a true nuisance and portrayed a frighten face well enough. Lovelace, who has plenty of caustic things to say about his situation. A cranky looking John Carradine pops up as the bumming vagrant Otis P. So you better not cross me" browbeater villain Bull. His nervous performance was solid, as the scrawny, slow-witted criminal Eddie, but it was Don Kelly's ominously hammy turn as the "Oh, I can get so angry after a few drinks. Really, this minimalist low-budget production is nothing out of the ordinary, but it was the name of character actor Harry Dean Stanton which drove my interest to watch it. ![]() What eventuates from "The Hostage" is dry suspense leisurely springing from a reasonably old-fashion and simplified plot (taken off Henery Farrell's novel) of well-conceived episodic sub-plot developments to gradually lead up to its suspenseful closing. Like the other user-commenter mentioned, this one does have a striking resemblance to Macauley Culkin's "Home Alone (1990)", but without comic humour. Meanwhile his parents have grown worried over his disappearance, and their interfering neighbour claim to see him with a vagrant, which leads everyone chasing the wrong lead. The removalists Bull and Eddie happen to be criminals, and they use the truck to transport a dead body and Davey witnesses the two burying the body. When Davey gets in the way of his parents when they're trying to pack up their belongings to move to another house, he enters the removal truck and unknowingly gets locked it.
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