Chris Gorak	...	(Director)
Chris Gorak	...	(Writer)
Mary McCormack	...	Lexi
Rory Cochrane	...	Brad
Tony Perez	...	Alvaro
Scotty Noyd Jr.	...	Timmy
Jon Huertas	...	Rick
Max Kasch	...	Corporal Marshall
David Richards	...	Neil Simmons
Nina Barry	...	Kathy Reynolds
Ed Martin	...	Juan Martinez
Jenny O'Hara	...	Lexi's Mother
Will McCormack	...	Jason
Hector Luis Bustamante	...	Store Owner
Soledad St. Hilaire	...	Hardware Woman
Alejandra Flores	...	Terrified Woman on Street
Nigel Gibbs	...	Another Officer
tomandandy	...	Composer
Tom Richmond	...	Cinematographer

Comments: Here's another apocalyptic tale. It's not a great film but its basic premise provides a thought provoking conundrum. A suburban Los Angeles stay at home husband has just seen his city working wife off to work when a couple dirty bombs explode in the city center unleashing a toxic airborne virus. Chaos ensues as the husband attempts to get downtown and rescue, or something, his wife. (The director overused a handheld camera in this first act in an attempt to portray the hoopla and almost caused me to give up on the film.) The city is very quickly sealed off and he is unable to get to ground zero, so he goes back home. The media, when it works, informs everyone to stay inside and seal up their homes, and most importantly, to not let anyone in who may have been infected with the virus. After many hours of franticly duct-taping plastic over all the doors and windows to seal the place up air-tight ... Knock Knock! Honey, I'm home!

So here's the conundrum. A husband and wife are facing the possible end of days, neither knows for sure if either one of them are infected, nor does anybody really know the full effect and extent of the virus. The wife does appear sick, what with the constant retching and all, but love is blind. Does he let her in?

The rest of the film, up to the point where one of the better big twists I've seen in a movie is quickly played out, deals with the answer to that question and its consequences. It also seems like it was shot by someone other than the person who shot the first act. The direction is controlled and captures the emotional intensity of the situation pretty well. And the acting is not too bad. Mary McCormack plays the wife, Rory Cochrane, the husband. There are all the last rites, confessions, and emotional revelations to move the film along to its feature length running time that you might expect in a situation like this, and then the aforementioned twist. If you are the type to guess ahead while watching a film you might see it coming, but probably not. And don't get caught up in analyzing the specifics of virus contagion vectors presented here, they're not the point, they're the plot. Focus on the story of the couple and you might enjoy this film.

★★★

Summary: A dirty bomb has detonated in Los Angeles and a terrified husband decides to seal himself up in his suburban home and await the return of his working wife in first time director Chris Gorak's tense and topical drama. As the sun rises on another day in Los Angeles, Brad (Rory Cochrane) sends his wife Lexi (Mary McCormack) off to work with a kiss and a smile. When the media begins reporting on the detonation of a bomb within the city limits and a potentially toxic cloud covers the L.A. basin in ash, Brad enlists the aid of nearby handyman Alvaro (Tony Perez) in making his home as airtight as possible while worriedly awaiting the return of his wife. With roads closed, telephone lines jammed, and reports of multiple explosions pouring in from the media, the panic and isolation of the tragedy begins to take its toll on the horrified community. Though announcements over public airwaves ensure that authorities are doing their best to ensure the arrival of help to those in immediate danger, Brad and the rest of the citizens of L.A. soon discover that the explosions were only the beginning of their horrific ordeal.