I Spit On Your Toolbox Murders (While She Was Out (DVD))

Member Name: plipplop

Product:	While She Was Out (DVD)
Date:	07/06/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Some great killings

Disadvantages: Generally slow and silly

A review of just the film, While She Was Out was released on region 2 DVD in October 2008.

A downtrodden housewife named Della has to make a late night visit to the mall to collect some last minute items for Christmas. Greeted by hordes of other customers with the same idea, she struggles to find a parking space, but eventually does so, no thanks to a particularly selfish shopper who has parked his car across two spaces. Leaving a snotty note on his windshield, she carries on with her shopping trip, thinking no more about it. But when she returns to her car, she soon discovers that the other driver has not forgotten about it and an inconvenient night rapidly changes into an escalating nightmare.....

Well, this is a strange one. Based on a short story by an otherwise unknown author named Edward Bryant, While She Was Out is the directorial debut of Susan Montford, whose previous work includes production rights on the zany actioner Shoot 'Em Up and the film's production crew reads like a miscellaneous collection of Montford's Hollywood buddies. There's a stuntman in there, a TV producer and, most notably, there's one of the world's greatest fantasy horror directors - Guillermo Del Toro, the man behind Pan's Labyrinth. But it's not the creative team that's the strangest thing about this one. It's the plot.

While She Was Out is a like a montage of clips from every 'woman in peril' thriller you've ever seen, assembled as if to provide a government health warning of what NOT to do if a random collection of thugs ever decides to terrorise you. It's all here. A mobile phone with a batter that's about to run out. A car that isn't terribly reliable. Dreadful weather that makes for treacherous conditions wherever you are. How about a chase that leads our hero to leave the busy roads and take to the back roads? Should I go on? 'While She Was Out' certainly does. But then, you see, it doesn't exactly go on in quite the way that you might expect and it's all rather strange.

It's not entirely clear what we're supposed to think about Della. She's a bit neurotic and something of a victim to her grumpy, bullying husband. Clearly unhappy with her life, she's devoted to her children but spends most of the first twenty minutes or so simply drifting along the streets and around the mall as though in a world of her own. She then proceeds to spend the rest of the film lurching from one shift in character to another through a faltering series of stalk and slash sequences that periodically conclude in rather unexpected ways. It's all probably as unconventional as it is conventional. Della frequently decides to keep herself isolated and in close proximity to her assailants when opportunities to hide or escape abound. She seems to find curious spurts of strength when the need arises and then subsequently crumples into a whimpering heap and then after a while you get this strange feeling that she's not quite the person you thought she was.

Montford doesn't exactly handle it very skilfully. Most of the action takes place within the confines of a secluded forest in the middle of the night and, as such, it's frequently tricky to make out exactly what's going on. It's also not a terribly interesting place to set it. Aside from trees, lots of trees, and a bit of muddy stream, there aren't really any opportunities to do something interesting. The pace is pretty clumsy, with bursts of energy and excitement enshrouded in slower, stalking moments or even weirder dialogue scenes, notably between Della's assailants who start to question the nature of what's happening that night. Very occasionally, it's also extremely brutal, and a real contrast to the rest of the narrative, justifying its 18 certificate with probably no more than two scenes of violence and the occasional sexual swear word. But it's never very engaging, visually or otherwise. Montford's matter-of-fact way of using the camera is very, very ordinary and whilst the film doesn't feel cheap, it does feel very restricted in scope. Quite what Montford's point is supposed to be is never entirely clear but the final outcome is equally likely to encourage satisfaction and irritation in equal quantities according to the audience taste.

Kim Basinger, in all fairness, looks fantastic for her age and is certainly a capable and convincing lead. Putting aside the fact that her children seem far too young for her, she copes extremely well with an ever-changing series of emotions and experiences. Her assailants are less convincing and, sadly, rather clichéd, comprising the stereotypical combination of different ethnic origins. With Lukas Haas in the lead as a thug named Chuckie (no, really) it's hard to take any of them seriously, but more importantly, it's hard to believe their willingness to escalate the severity of the situation so quickly. This is a big problem with the film generally. There's no real build up or increase in tension up to the point when Della first confronts the young men and then suddenly it becomes a frantic mission to stay alive. For the audience, it just doesn't sit well at all.

For the production in the round, however, there's still something curiously likeable about While She Was Out. I think it's the combination of really silly, predictable moments contrasted by occasional moments that really shock you. It's also true to say that Kim Basinger is at the top of her game here. She adds some credibility in a role that many actresses would have simply turned into a scream queen. While She Was Out isn't a great film and it's probably not really a good film but it is a curious film and that's enough to at least give it a chance.

Summary: Get yer tools out for the lads!