Right at Your Door
(Lionsgate Region 1 NTSC DVD)
(2006)
review by Head Cheeze

While we all know that good things come in small packages, sometimes so can positively terrifying things, as evidenced by the low-budget, minimalist shocker, “Right at Your Door”.  The story of a husband and wife caught up in a dirty bomb attack in Los Angeles, Right at Your Door proves that you don’t need boatloads of cash, marquee names, or fancy sets (the majority of the film takes place in the claustrophobic confines of a small house) to make a downright scary flick.

Lexi (Mary McCormack) and Brad (Rory Cochrane) are fresh arrivals to the City of Angels, just settling in to their digs on the outskirts of downtown. On a day like any other, Lexi leaves for work, while musician Brad prepares for another day of waiting by the phone for a paying gig. When a series of explosions rock the city center, however, Brad realizes that this is no average day, and ventures out to find his wife. He soon finds himself turned back by police, who are encouraging citizens to stay in their homes, and aren’t allowing anyone near downtown. Brad returns to find the neighbor’s gardener seeking shelter in his house, and learns that the bombs detonated downtown were dirty bombs – explosions that launch a deadly toxin into the air. Following the advice they hear on the radio, Brad and the gardener tape up the house, sealing it from the potentially fatal air outside. Hours later, when Lexi stumbles onto their doorstep, Brad tells her that he can’t let her in, as exposure to the toxin could kill them both, but the radio says help is on the way. When it turns out that “help” comes in the guise of gas-masked, jack-booted military men, however, Brad and Lexi wonder where their salvation truly lies.

Right at Your Door is a timely and provocative drama that offers an unflinching and agonizing snapshot of the Post 9-11 American psyche, where misinformation, paranoia, and ignorance are the true terrorists.  Writer/Director Chris Gorak’s intimate film is both heart-wrenching and frightening as hell, with wonderfully understated performances by both McCormack and Cochrane. Lexi and Brad aren’t heroic or cowardly, good or bad, smart or dumb – they are just ordinary people faced with an extraordinary situation. Not once did I find myself questioning the logic or motives of these characters because, quite frankly, I couldn’t even begin to imagine what I would do in their shoes, nor did I want to. This is the stuff of REAL horror, here, and, for that reason, I can’t recommend Right at Your Door as a piece of “entertainment”. This is a very dour, heartbreaking, and frighteningly realistic film that demands to be seen, if not enjoyed in the way one would enjoy, say, “The Day After Tomorrow”, or other cautionary tales/disaster flicks.

Note to guys: Right at Your Door is a terrible date movie, unless you enjoy answering questions like “What would you do if that was me?” (Especially if you’re a bad liar).