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Standoff
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Lions Gate Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Eric Cotenas (20th May 2016). |
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The Film
 Left in the care of her aunt after a car accident took both of her parents, orphaned Isabel (Lunchbox Loser's Ella Ballentine) – nicknamed "Bird" by her father – keeps her camera between herself and the rest of the world. When her aunt's boyfriend Roger (The Colony's John Tench) takes her to the cemetery to visit her father's grave, Bird (and her camera) witnesses a professional hit at a funeral that takes out all present. Killer Sade's (Event Horizon's Laurence Fishburne) practice of revealing his face to his victims means he can leave no witnesses, and Roger inadvertently alerts the killer to Bird's presence before he too is killed. Bird takes off into the woods and stumbles upon an isolated farmhouse. Guilt-ridden over the accidental death of his son and estranged from his wife (Saw 3D's Joanna Douglas), veteran Carter's (The Mist's Thomas Jane) plans of drinking himself to death are put on hold by arrival of the terrified twelve-year-old girl and a bullet to his leg from the silencer-wielding pursuer. Taking shelter with Bird at the top of the steps, Carter is able to spray some buckshot into Sade who takes a defensive position on the ground floor demanding that Carter turn over the girl and her camera in return for his own survival. Although he comes to the surprising realization that Carter is no backwards farmer but a skilled soldier like himself, Sade also surmises Carter's situation and that no one is going to come looking for him any time soon. Unaware that Carter only has one shotgun shell left, Sade is content to wait things out even though both of them are wounded. Carter has the advantage of a first aid kit and care administered by Bird, even though the phone is disconnected, the only other houses within shouting distance have been foreclosed and abandoned, and the failing generator combined with the coming nightfall will make them more vulnerable under cover of darkness. Both men are certain that they are the stronger in a battle of wills that both try to downplay as a pissing contest; and Sade is willing to play dirty once Carter has realized that the man – for all his claims of following orders – kills because he likes it. Hiding behind a misleading action film cover is a solid little thriller distilled to the basics, allowing Jane and Fishburne ample room for theatrics as the film takes on qualities of both film noir and western. While it is easy to overpraise a child actor's abilities, Ballentine gives a very mature performance, playing off of Jane and coming across as a fully-realized character rather than a suspense film prop and avoiding preciousness. Not so much opening up the claustrophobic film as periodically scuttling the built-up tension are cutaways to young Officer Baker (Crimson Peak's Jim Watson) coming upon the ambiguous remnants of the cemetery massacre, hearing distant gunfire, and becoming bait to draw Carter downstairs; but this plot development unfolds as expected while being no less effective in its brutal trajectory. Where the film does falter is the climax which laughably suggests that such a skilled killer could be so mystified by a minor distraction he must have been observant enough to notice earlier as a potential strategic advantage; but the ending manages to ratchet up some additional suspense while being dramatically satisfying. Actor Hayden Christensen (Awake) and his brother (Vanishing on 7th Street) are credited as producers – as they were on the LionsGate releases American Heist and Cooties – along with actors Jane and Fishburne. 
Video
The 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 2.40:1 widescreen is fairly noisy (even blocky at times) in the darker shots and the darker portions of the frame, but this is likely part of the master rather than an inferior compression job. 
Audio
The sole audio option is a restrained DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that uses its sound field for subtle atmosphere along with sudden gunfire, silencer shots, creaking floorboards, and hammer bows to good effect. Optional English, English SDH, and Spanish subtitles are also available. 
Extras
The sole extra "A Fight to the Death: The Making of Standoff" (7:03) is brief but satisfying, featuring contributions from writer/director Adam Alleca (scripter of The Last House on the Left remake), stars Jane, Fishburne, and Ballentine, cinematographer Zoran Popovic (Tales of Halloween), and producer Eric Gozlan (Lost After Dark). Alleca betrays his schooling by speaking of the film primarily in terms of color symbolism and its plot as "unstoppable force versus immovable object" while Popovic reveals that the choice of the house and its interiors (a different location in Canada) were chosen in homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt as well as Flesh and Bone. 
Overall
Hiding behind a misleading action film cover is a solid little thriller distilled to the basics. 
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