Zoe (Shelby Handley) and Chris's (Ry Barrett) has seen better days, which has to do with him, working for the DEA, hardly having any time for her, and when he does, things at times get a little rough, as deep underneath, he's all macho, and not in a good way. So it's no surprise that she's having an affair with Adam (Rodrigo Massa), who might not mean anything to her as such, but at least he's there - and the sex is good. And then, just after having had (slightly botched up) make-up sex with Chris, Zoe is dragged from her hotel room and ultimately finds herself tied up in a dilapitated warehouse, where a masked man asks her all sorts of questions about her married life and adultery, and tortures her when he doesn't like her answers. Thing is, he hasn't got all the details about her 100% right, and when he drags in Chris and believes him to be her affair, it becomes clear that the masked man has messed up - which is only confirmed when his employer (Phi Bulani) shows up on the scene as well, complaining that our masked villain has kidnapped the wrong people. Zoe and Chris are let go, and on the outside it really looks like a case of mistaken identity with a reasonably happy ending. Only the investigating detective, Lee (Jay Wong), is not quite so sure and after a bit of digging finds Chris's partner Keith (Arthur Boan) involved in the kidnapping. And how the heck do both Adam and the masked man's employer turn up shot dead at a cartel shoot-out crime scene?

The first half of this movie is essentially routine violent thriller stuff that hardly sets a foot wrong but doesn't really add anything to the genre, either - until it all climaxes in a mistaken identity twist that at first comes across as a tad silly ... but makes perfect sense the longer the film goes, as it totally subverts anything that has happened previously, especially the psycho games played with Zoe during the captive situation. And seeing the plot unfolding in a rather unexpected way is really a joy to watch, thanks to a really clever script but also due to a suspense-heavy direction and a relatable ensemble cast. Pretty awesome genre entertainment, actually.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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