The name brand of Amicus has always been synonymous for quality films of the horror and thriller genres. There are many fans of the classic horror films of the 1960’s, 1970’s, and even 1980’s that look back fondly on such films as And Now The Screaming Starts, The Beast Must Die!, Tales From The Crypt, Asylum, etc and smile about the quality and feeling of them.
27 years after Amicus last released The Monster Club starring Vincent Price and John Carradine, the great studio has been resurrected. Does Stuck stand up on it’s own with the other films in the Amicus canon? Absolutely.
I’m not going to spoil the whole storyline here, so I’ll just give you a brief outline of the story. Obviously, it’s based on the true story of a nurse out of
Stuart Gordon takes the story further. It’s as if he sat down and said – “OK, this is what I wished would have happened – bloody horrific justice will be served!” That’s the type of feeling the movie conjures in you.
Stuart Gordon has done an excellent job of getting you involved with all the characters and establishing their places in the film. The atmosphere of the film is one of dark surrealism. You actually can understand how the driver of the car and nurse – Brandi (Mena Suvari) - is reacting when she is making very rushed irrational decisions and trying to justify to herself her actions. Even though you know she’s making very bad decisions, you completely understand where she’s coming from in some sick way. Mena does an incredible job at realistically sliding from caring nurse at an old folks home to selfish attempted murderer. It’s hard to believe anyone can take a role through all those characteristic changes in a 90 minute film, but she does successfully.
Stephen Rea gains your sympathy immediately as the down–on-his-luck Tom. Life could not be much crueler to Tom in one day. He loses his apartment and gets to a job placement service only to find out he has to sit in line for 3 hours waiting for his appointment. When he does finally get called up by the placement officer, the guy tells him that his info was never entered into the computer and he would need to fill out his paperwork again and set another appointment. Now, how many people out there can identify with a situation like this? He then has to sleep on a park bench and is told by a police officer to leave or get arrested. All the poor guy is trying to do when Brandi slams into him is get to a shelter to sleep for the night. Rea does a good job with his character, making the transformation from desperate and hurt victim to driven self-preservationist to vengeful spirit. All he really wants to do is get out of that windshield and get some medical help. And he’s going to find a way to do it.
Overall, the film is very well done. It has a good pace and is completely believable. There is no suspension of disbelief needed for this film. It is completely rooted in believability. Amicus has done it again – I give this film two thumbs up.
Stuck Review
