STASH HOUSE (Eduardo Rodriguez, 2012)

[Nathan]

Briana Evigan just retweeted me! How awesome is that! Okay school kid moment, but I'm new to the twitter thing.

[Abyss-Lord]

Kinda a boring movie, but I bought it anyway on dvd.
Looking forward to One in the Chamber and of course Expendables 2.
Really anxious for Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning!

But yeah, Stash House was decent. Gonna have to try watching it again, because i fell asleep near the end. Dolph had some really cool scenes though. I guess I just didn't like the story... Didn't make sense to me.

[Stadanko]

Still trying to wrap my head around the hallway scene at the end. Otherwise a fun movie for what it was.

[Jox]

Haven't got the chance to watch it yet (waiting for a disc)!

[savagesketch]

Still trying to wrap my head around the hallway scene at the end. Otherwise a fun movie for what it was.

Well said. I had to watch it twice, and I was still confused at various parts. Not to spoil anything, but the film could have really benefitted from some more exposition. The "man in the floorboards" is not handled well at all. Even Dolph's character's motivations seem odd and a little thrown together. It's apparent that they tried giving his character some sort of backstory, but even that gets lost towards the end. I don't know if it's the script, or some editing, who knows... But the film suffers imo.

[Jox]

The national mainstream release of the DVD (no BD for now) in the US is October 23.

[Travis]

Is this really only being released at Wal-Mart?

[Jox]

Is this really only being released at Wal-Mart?

In the US yes, for now... but I think Warner is releasing it everywhere, later in the fall.

[Travis]

Know anything about a possible Philippines release? I bought a pirated DVD of it today. I would rather get a legit copy, but it sounds like there is little chance it will get an official release where I am.

[Jox]

No idea, I rarely come across anything from the Philippines!

[Travis]

You never know though, they actually showed Universal Soldier: Regeneration in the theater here.

[Jox]

http://www.blu-ray.com/Stash-House/98653/?show=preview

The screenplay by Gary Spinelli is simple in design, pitting a frightened couple who’ve stumbled upon a series of shocking discoveries inside their new home against a pair of enforcers out to retrieve undisclosed goods, making sure no witnesses remain. It’s a clean premise open to a filmmaker with interest in maintaining a pulse-pounding pace and tight narrative turns, keeping viewers off-balance as the evening wears on and Emma and David slowly run out of survival options. Sadly, Rodriguez is no Fincher, generally failing to enliven the material with directorial chaos that involves superfluous style and a general disregard for thespian clarity, with patches of exposition lost to mumbling, leaving a few exchanges unintelligible. Although Rodriguez imagines “Stash House” as some type of visual calling card for a career in budget cinema, the effort is a tad overanxious for what the story actually covers, laboring to generate a nail-biting atmosphere of twists and chases out of material that works better streamlined, highlighting acts of intimidation as the horror carries into the wee hours of the morning.



While a certain amount of silliness is expected with material such as this, “Stash House” does have troubling sustaining believability, leading with the entire system of cameras that litter the compound. These eyes in the sky are able to pick up any movement on the property (sure, okay), zoom in and out with HD clarity (I guess), pick up any and all verbal exchanges no matter the distance between the subject and the microphone (um…), and utilize facial recognition software that’s plugged into a database of some sort, allowing criminal types to be identified by their full name (no). The camera layout (which doesn’t carry any consistency) permits Rodriguez to continue the house siege outside, studying Andy and Ray’s actions through night vision. It’s an interesting idea, but poorly executed, keeping attention on the random technology at hand, not the characters. This is a common problem for “Stash House,” which always seems more consumed with gimmicks and tepid showdowns instead of delivering its thunderous qualities through the itchy personalities gathered.

Casting doesn’t help the cause, with Evigan and Faris lacking a level of screen charisma and skill needed to pull off these trembling characters. Huertas is also unsatisfying as bullet-happy Ray, turning his potentially menacing supporting role into a tiresome thug. The real center of attention is Lundgren, who, in an unexpected turn of events, is actually the only comprehensible member of the ensemble. While the work is stale, his presence is needed in a movie like this, adding a touch of star power and physical force to the action.

Even at 95 minutes, “Stash House” feels 20 minutes too long, dragging out the climax, taking an eternity to reach a foregone conclusion. “Stash House” isn’t satisfying as a whole, with exciting pieces of the production hinting at a stronger film under a different creative direction. What’s here doesn’t have the sheer strength of violence and peril it should rightfully provide.

[Tom]

That reviews pretty spot on.

[Jox]

Still haven't seen it...

But most of his career, Dolph had to endure bad reviews for his films including his performance. Now even when the movie's so so, he gets legitimate praise for his awesome performances. So there's some progress, he wanted to work on his acting chops after the first EXPENDABLES and there you go...

[Tom]

Yeah it's good to see him getting praise since The Expendables. The reaction to One In The Chamber especially has been extremely positive towards Dolph. I really enjoyed what he did with the character.