Once feted as a wunderkind, screenwriter Don Malek now skulks in a grimy apartment in the roughest part of town, dodging persistent questions from his agent, Ava, about progress on his new script.
So Ava is understandably pleased when Don finally shows her what he's been working on, though she's a bit puzzled by his decision to stage an actual scene for her rather than just show her words on a page. Still, his grisly murder scenario seems like the basis of a good story, so everything is good, right?
Well, maybe it would be, if the murder was actually just a story ...
This film was originally released in 2010 under the title New Terminal Hotel, but was re-cut into this shorter form a couple of years later. It's hard to imagine that what they would have chosen to cut is 'a decent ending', so I can only assume that the way this movie finishes is the same as the original. In which case I guess I can at least be glad that it took me 13 fewer minutes to reach it than it would have done originally!
It's rather a shame that the movie doesn't stick an ending as - despite its somewhat slow pace and obviously low budget - it has a pretty decent cast and a basic premise that could have gone in an interesting direction. You see Dan's sudden change of career from author to killer is motivated by a desire to avenge his girlfriend and punish the men whose power - and willingness to abuse said power - led to her death. A killer striking against toxic, narcissistic predators is a premise that could potentially create an interesting set of questions and dynamics. After all, his motives are understandable and even sympathetic, but his actions are reprehensible.
Unfortunately, the film doesn't really engage with this and just goes down the "throw in a few grisly kills and horror buffs will be satisfied, right?" route. But no, no, I won't.
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