On the one night a year that it rains in Los Angeles, after a couple glasses of wine, Claire gives in to Noah’s flirtations and sleeps with him in a scene that’s admittedly quite steamy, despite Lopez’s no-nudity clause. The next morning, though, as she’s gathering her things and preparing to do the (quick) walk of shame, Noah’s clingy, intense freak-out should be her first clue that something is a little off with this guy.
Guzman, a veteran of the “Step Up” franchise, may know the moves here, too, but never sells them convincingly. There’s something too boyish about his looks and underdeveloped about his craft. He’s never truly menacing, which depletes this erotic thriller of much of its thrills, and he ends up being thoroughly outmatched by the charismatic Lopez at every turn.
From here, there are multiple instances of elaborately threatening behavior which should be enough cause for Claire to go to the police, but then we would have no movie. Instead, we watch as she scrambles and fumbles in hopes of appeasing this psycho – and inadvertently places herself and her family in further danger. Cohen directed the first “Fast and Furious” movie from 2001, and he gets the chance to insert one decent car chase as a reminder of what he’s capable of doing with more lively material.
Only the insane (and insanely violent) climactic showdown, in a burning barn, of all places, finally gives the people what they want. You’ll howl, you’ll squirm, you’ll applaud with disgusted glee – and you’ll wish that the rest of the film were that much fun.
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