Christopher Webster [Celluloid 01.29.08] movie review apocalyptic



Year: 2006
Director: Chris Gorak
Writer: Chris Gorak
IMDB: link
Trailer: link
Review by: agentorange
Rating: 8 out of 10

Now I've been reading a lot about director Chris Gorak and Right at Your Door for a while but was never able to see the film theatrically due to the fact that Roadside Attractions only gave it a limited release last month. So it was a real treat to get my hands on a screener and give it a spin this weekend.


Right at Your Door does what every great indie film working on a minimal budget needs to do. It exploits a suspensful high concept plot device only to morph it into an intimate and ultimately human story. We've seen this done to great effect many times before (for some reason Chris Nolan's Following, or Vincenzo Natalie's Cube come immediately to mind), but Gorak's film might be the best I've seen of late.

It tells the story of Brad and Lexi, a young couple whose new life together is turned upside-down when a slew of "dirty bombs" are detonated in L.A., releasing toxic gas into the atmosphere. Told by the media to seal the house, Brad grudgingly quarantines Lexi outside where she must wait for help.

Definitely informed by a post 9/11 America, the film provokes questions about our new found paranoia while it divulges just how severely we've come to distrust (should distrust?) authorities who are as likely to hurt us as help us. Gorak also proves his writing ability by giving us a sense of the larger picture without leaving his primary locale by telling much of the story through radio broadcasts that may not be trustworthy. The editing is sharp, the acting is superb, and the story is as riveting as it is devastating. A must see.

You might also like

ih (14 years ago) Reply

Awesome review! I would of given it the same rating. I loved this so much. I never cry when watching movies but this one almost got me. Everyone's gotta see it.

uglypedro (10 years ago) Reply

Sorry, but I HATED it! For 1/2 hour Brad behaves as if he'd kill laughing babies to get his wife back. When she gets home, he refuses to let her in..."you MIGHT be radio active", he tells her. What?!? You just finishes saying you'd give your life just to see her one more time! I had to turn it off after that....he made me suddenly hate him.

Leave a comment

Your Comment