As Good as Dead (2010 film)

As Good as Dead
Directed by Jonathan Mossek
Produced by Edward Bass
Jordan Gertner
Eve Pomerance
Written by Erez Mossek
Eve Pomerance
Starring
Music by Greg Arnold
Cinematography Frank Barrera
Edited by Julie Carr
Lee Percy
Distributed by First Look Studios
Release date
 January 25, 2010
Running time
 100 minutes
Country United States
Language English

As Good as Dead is a 2010 American crime thriller film starring Andie MacDowell, Cary Elwes, Frank Whaley and Matt Dallas.[1] It is also Jonathan Mossek's directorial debut.[2]

Summary

Seeking revenge for the murder of their religious leader, fundamental loyalists kidnap and torture the man they believe responsible, but the ensuing clash of right vs. left ideologies quickly reveals that they may have the wrong man, which puts them on a path toward a shocking twist.[3]

Plot

Ethan Belfrage (Cary Elwes) is a photojournalist who is separated from his wife. One afternoon he is confronted by two men, Aaron (Frank Whaley) and Jake (Matt Dallas), who proceed to attack and kidnap him. They lock Ethan up and accuse him of being responsible for the death of their cult leader and pastor, who is the father of a third attacker, Helen Kalahan (Andie MacDowell). Helen and Aaron claim that Ethan is one of the three assailants who killed the cult leader. When Ethan tries to contact his neighbor Sarah (Emma Kantor) for help, they then kidnap her as well. Aaron, who has a neo-Nazi tattoo on his neck, hog-ties Sarah and begins questioning her. He asks if she and Ethan are in a relationship but she denies it.

The three attackers begin arguing and Helen angers Aaron by suggesting that he has psychological problems so he kills Sarah by injecting her with drugs. Aaron and Helen continue to torture Ethan until he confesses to murdering the pastor. They then make him write down the details of the pastor's murder but he refuses to cooperate, angering his attackers, who threaten to burn him alive. Ethan tries to delay them by telling them he has information containing details of the murder locked away. Aaron says that if Ethan can't find the information they will kill daughter.

At some point, Helen realizes that Ethan is not responsible for the pastor's death and tells Aaron he must be set free. Furious at the idea of freeing Ethan, Aaron kidnaps Ethan's wife and daughter, holding them hostage. Jake intervenes to stop Aaron from killing the young girl and as such Aaron accidentally shoots him. Ethan is able to untied himself using a knife Helen had given him and kills both Aaron and Helen with a gun he finds. The film ends with Ethan and his family free from the assailants and the house burning up in flames.

Cast

Reception

Jesse Cataldo of Slant Magazine gave the film one and a half stars,[4] while Rotten Tomatoes gave it 29% audience score[5]

References

  1. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (7 October 2010). "Visiting New York, Seeking Vengeance". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  2. ↑ DeFore, John (14 October 2010). "As Good as Dead -- Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  3. ↑ As Good as Dead (2010), retrieved 2018-10-09
  4. ↑ Cataldo, Jesse (3 October 2010). "As Good As Dead". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
  5. ↑ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/as_good_as_dead_2010/
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