Director Deon Taylor’s (Traffik) new thriller stars Dennis Quaid as the title character.
A young San Francisco couple want to move out of the City and find a home in Napa Valley so they can start a family. Scott Russell (Michael Ealy) and his wife Annie (Meagan Good) view an isolated, beautiful old, ivy-covered house owned by widower Charlie Peck (Quaid).
Scott doesn’t like the house because it needs a lot of updating, but Annie has fallen in love with it, so they shell out the $3 million plus, and move in.
Charlie readily takes the money, but doesn’t want to actually leave the property. He shows up announced to mow the lawn, stops by for a chat or to yell at workers that are installing motion sensor lights, not to drill into the exterior of the house.
Scott works in the City in marketing and Annie works at home as a magazine writer, so she’s always there when Charlie visits. Scott picks up right away that there’s something off about this guy (along with the entire audience, I might add) however, no matter how many times he warns his wife, she feels sorry for him and welcomes him whenever he shows up. She even invites him for Thanksgiving dinner.
Charlie gives off dozens of clues. When he’s upset, he makes strange, intense faces, he stalks around the property and won’t take no for an answer.
There aren’t any surprises here. Noises that go bump in the night, someone watching them from the surrounding woods and a figure that appears in the background of a scene and then quickly disappears, it all shows up in the script, by David Loughary (Star Trek V). Also a few of the scenes that should be scary, are instead funny.
Perhaps the one reason to see the film is to see Quaid, who seems to be having a grand ole time.