Wolff rating: NOT BAD
Plot summary: Power goes out in LA and the beast in us all gets loose.
Biased, pithy comments: I thought this film would be both better and worse. Penned and directed by Koepp (responsible for, among other things, the ghastly ``Lost World'' script), this story meanders and rambles, held together by the solid acting of MacLachlan and Shue, somewhat less by Mulroney. I didn't find the film too engaging (why should I care about these self-centered yuppies?), but it certainly got better once they left their subdivision. I found the premise a little silly---the U.S. Army doesn't arrive on the scene with a portable radio generator assuring everyone to stay calm? No way! If the power is out that bad, it ain't never going to come back on. The theme, of trust and betrayal beneath a thin veneer of society, isn't really well-explored but isn't totally fumbled. I'd skip it, although there's nothing entirely wrong with the film---it just isn't really good.
Other Notes: MAJOR SPOILERS---MAJOR SPOILER---MAJOR SPOILERS----STOP READING NOW----A few people have complained about the ending of the film, how it cops out with a happy ending. I didn't think that was the case at all; if there had been a killing of some sort, it would have been yet another writer striving for profundity by whacking a main character. In fact, the so-called happy ending is a much richer emotional conclusion. Oh, and yeah, yeah, it's supposed to be spooky and paranoid that we never find out why the power went off, but I sure found it more distracting than spooky.
How many times I have seen it: x1
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Elisabeth Shue, Demot Mulroney, Richard T. Jones.
Directed by: David Koepp