Monarch Home Entertainment introduces audiences to "the one that got away" regarding the May 24, 2016 DVD release of the 2015 Dog Day Films psychological thrill "Dusk." The appeal of this future cult classic one is that it evokes thoughts of the type of film that provides material for the one-percenter pop culture humor of the on-again-off-again sitcom "Community."
The genius of "Dusk" is that it superficially looks like a "Scooby-Doo" level thriller but proves to be much more substantive and surprising. It further proves the adage about someone being his or her own worst enemy.
The premise of the plot is that on-the-cusp of middle-age everyman John Whitmore wakes up to discover that his wife Anne is gone without a trace. John then finds a cassette tape recording that informs him of a kidnapping of Anne. This leads to instructing John to get his life savings in cash and ride several hours with a man named David to a remote cabin in the woods to exchange the money for Anne.
The cliches that should not deter abandoning "Dusk" for the highly satisfying "wait-for-it" reveals including John first disregarding an instruction to not call the police and then calling best friend/slacker manchild Sam for help.
The preliminary events lead to John and Sam riding in the back of the distressed Winnebago in which David is chauffeuring them.
David zoning out throughout the film provides the context for scenes that show the course of his relationship with Anne. They also provide Scooby style clues regarding the identity of the kidnapper.
Suspense during the "Driving Mr. John" portion of "Dusk" includes attempts to turn the tables and reveals that provide reasons to suspect that Sam and the bad guys are in cahoots.
The aforementioned payoff comes when John arrives at his final destination and learns the true nature of the plot. Suffice it to say that he is not still John.
On a larger level, "Dusk" maintains a good pace throughout and makes you care about John and like the goofy Sam. Further, David nicely fills the role as the quietly menacing redneck who likely has a Confederate flag draped behind a gun rack in his pick-up. The only disconnect is the answer to "who's your daddy?" not being especially credible considering those traits.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Dusk" is encouraged to email me. You can also connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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