Faults (FILM REVIEW)
Faults
Film Review
by Kam Williams
Parents Hire Deprogrammer to Rescue Daughter from Cult in
Psychological Thriller
Dr. Ansel Roth (Leland Orser) was
once a world-renowned psychotherapist specializing in deprogramming. Trouble
is, his career has been in sharp decline ever since a client’s child committed
suicide while still in his care.
Presently, he’s been reduced to renting
a ballroom at a low-rent hotel to give a lecture before hawking his new book
“Sects, Cults and Mind Control.” He now delivers these talks more out of a need
to pay the rent than a belief in the efficacy of his coercive methods of
rescuing a person caught in the clutches of a charismatic megalomaniac. But
that doesn’t stop Dr. Roth from springing into action when he’s approached for help
by a couple attending the talk.
It seems that Evelyn (Beth Grant) and Terry’s (Chris Ellis)
daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) has cut herself off from the rest
of the world for months since being brainwashed by a mysterious cult called
Faults. The parents are so desperate they immediately agree to Ansel’s
exorbitant fee despite the warning that his odds of success are only 50-50. After
collecting a handsome advance, he proceeds to snatch Claire off the street into
a van with the help of a couple of goons.
The plan is to
restrain her in a remote motel for the five days it should take to undo the
indoctrination. And while Ansel is alone in one room with Claire, her folks wait
in the one right next-door, anxiously anticipating a happy reunion.
The plot thickens,
however, as it becomes clear that increasingly-exasperated Ansel isn’t up to
the task. To the contrary, it appears that Claire might even be getting the
better of their intense sessions. Yet, the shrink arrogantly threatens to stop
the sessions unless he’s paid the balance of his bill.
So unfolds Faults, an
intriguing treat that walks a fine line between dark comedy and psychological
thriller. The picture marks the feature-length writing and directorial debut of
Riley Stearns whose real-life wife, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, squares-off here as
Claire opposite her gifted co-star, Leland Orser.
Cooped up together in
very close quarters, the two gradually ramp up the intensity in an
ever-escalating game of cat-and-mouse vaguely evocative of Linda Blair and the
Exorcist. Don’t be surprised if the tables are turned and the hunter is somehow
bested by the game.
A mind is a terrible
thing to lose!
Very Good
(3 stars)
Unrated
Running time: 89 minutes
Distributor: Screen
Media Films
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